Echo of the Hunger Games
by DarkusPhoenix
Summary: The Hunger Games ended for good... Or had it? The Hunger Games return, after a rebellion upon the new government goes through successfully, and the past has begun to repeat itself.
1. The Shadow of the Games Return

Emptiness. That's the only emotion that surged through me. Slowly, all sense of feeling fled from my fingers, followed by arms, head, chest, and at last, my legs; draining through my toes and heels. I felt myself falling to the floor; melting as an ice cube on a searing hot sidewalk in July. I stared at the small sky blue piece of paper in the hands of Ruth Grand. The voices around me were of frightened and devastated citizens of my town; District 7. I was at the back corner of the cordoned off section that was situated in the center of the town square. I felt the fibrous hemp rope gently braced against my lower back. Faces were turned towards the cordoned off area, but my focus just stayed on that paper held in the well groomed, and annoyingly brightly painted, nails of Ruth. She looked this way every year, nearly coming to tears when she pulls those papers from the bowl. I assumed it always made her feel like the Grim Reaper of chance. Each name that was pulled was almost guaranteed death in one of the most horrifyingly deadly and painful ways possible, all at the hands of our nation's government.

Long ago, our government was kinder, and less tyrannical than the present. We used to have much more of a voice in how the government is ran, and also we chose local citizens who would travel between their District and the Capitol to vote on issues upon the behalf of their District. That was, until the Districts became unhappy with how our representatives were hearing only money falling into their bank accounts and not the cries of the suffering families back home. We revolted against the government we had a say in shaping into the ghoulish fiend. We created the monster, and we needed to take it out. We tried, and failed. The monster we created grew too strong before we realized what we had done. There used to be 13 Districts, now there is only 12. 13's nuclear destruction was an example of the power the beast we created held, and how helpless we were but to be its entertainment.

That is how the Hunger Games began 100 years ago. Each year, tributes are selected from each District to represent the rebels that each District formed during the first revolt. These rebels, who symbolically united against the government, are now turned on each other to entertain the Capitol's aristocrats. They hold the strings, and we are merely the meat puppets whose deaths mean little but a way to keep us in line. Our cries of suffering is drowned out by their cries of enjoyment from the games.

The second revolt, which seemed to succeed about 25 years ago, was followed by worse suffering than we had ever imagined. The new president that took over from the resurrected District 13, was assassinated 15 years after everything settled down, and the old status quo was restored under President Quill. Quill is a middle aged man, with jet black hair and a temperament just as dark. He held a high status under President Snow before the 75 Years Revolt, as it as come to be known, since it took place 75 years after the Dark Days Revolution. Quill at the time of the 75 Years revolt was a as a very young man at 30 years old. District 13 has since been completely disposed of since the new reign of President Quill, to avoid past mistakes, like the covert survival of District 13 after the Dark Days Revolution 100 years ago. The rest of the nation's domain has been scoured with heat seeking cameras, satellite watch of suspected rebel bases inside each District's borders, and other tactical precautions. The idea of a rebellion is a punished crime, only if you dare speak it. Only those who remained loyal to District 13, and stayed inside the circle of it's administration were prosecuted, and eventually killed. Two prominent figureheads of District 13 still live on today, as a nearly middle aged couple; Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark. Slightly prior the 75 Years Revolt, District 12 was all but blown to pieces, due to Katniss and Peeta's home being District 12. President Snow thought it fit to tear apart all but the small Victor's Village of District 12 in response to Katniss' and Peeta's passive attempts to install a rebellion by forcing the hand of the Capitol in announcing 2 victors in the 74th Hunger Games. Both Katniss and Peeta were the victors that year, upon Katniss' idea of simultaneous suicide, to upset the capitol in having no victor. They later regretted that mistake, but became heroes in installing a new government that they thought would save their children from the Hunger Games forever. As they had each played it twice, they wanted to save any new generation from sending away their children to such a game of certain death. Their dream lasted about 15 years, and ended with a bullet through President Paylor's chest. The dream dripped away, as did Paylor's blood and the light in her eyes faded away. 10 years have passed, each resulting in a Hunger Games, as it was re-instated after Quill took power. Katniss and Peeta, as well as any living Victor or prominent rebel has been watched, they have no choice but to follow the new government's laws. District 12 has recovered since Katniss, Peeta and a few others returned to District 12 when President Paylor resided in the Capitol and symbolized safety at last. 10 years of safety came and went. All things must change. However, no one expected the past to return with a vengeance.

Katniss and Peeta did have two children, a girl and a boy. Both as of now are of age to compete in the re-established Hunger Games under President Quill. This year though, is the most dangerous of them all, or is said to be, from leaks from the Capitol. 100 years since the Dark Days Revolution. Every 25 years, the Capitol has held an increasingly dangerous Hunger Games, or Quarter Quells, of which double the tributes would be sent to slaughter. In the case of the 75th Hunger Games, the past Victors from each District were sentenced to relive the Games. In the 100th Hunger Games, also known as a Centennial Calamity, the twist hasn't been announced. We can only be sure that it will be even worse than the 3 Quarter Quell's combined. The number of tributes hasn't increased from an ordinary Hunger Games, however. My heart goes out to the unlucky ones chosen this year. I feel like my heart has already been taken, because the name announced for the male tribute for District 7 of the 100th Hunger Games; the first Centennial Calamity, was Zexion Cimmerian; my name.


	2. Atsá Shizhe'e

"Zexion?" my voice boomed across the square once again. Inside the pen separating those to be sent to slaughter from the old and young, the animals divided and made a clear path for me to make my final steps I will ever take inside my District. As I took my last steps to exit the holding pen for the males between 12 and 18, I looked up at the rich Various Pines, Firs, Hemlocks, and Cedars. I just wanted to make a break for them. Just run into the woods and never return. I always felt more at home there, during work anyway. Just over two years ago, when I was 16, I took a job as a scout for the lumber industry in my District. I would stroll through patches of woods, and look for tall, straight trees to cut for lumber and mark them with a colored ribbon, determining what it was destined to be used for. I was alone during all my time at work, marking trees. I knew entire landscape with a single stroll through. I was part of the woods, and it was part of me as well. Each step, whether in rain or snow, was one I cherished. Now, I'll have nothing but those memories of home to give me illusions as I walk into whatever deathtrap the Capitol has in store for the Centennial Calamity.

I stopped, closed my eyes, blocked out everything. I could feel the Capitol Guards who are instructed to retrieve the tributes, breathing down my neck. There was no way I could run from this fate. I needed to walk willingly into the fire to be somehow spare my District. I opened my eyes, and caught the stare of the girl who was to join me on the journey from District 7 into the darkness of death; Emerald Smythe. She maintained an English accent from her ancestors who came from England, which still existed, unlike the united country we hailed from fell and restructured itself into Panem today. Emerald was always kind, almost too kind. I never really spoke with her, but I would see her quite often, seeing as she was in the same classes as I was in school, until 16, when I left to be a scout for the lumber industry. Emerald, even now, seemed to smile for the cameras that was televising all of this to the Capitol. Emerald also left school to work in the lumber industry. She wasn't in the woods, but in an office, keeping tabs on which squads of "lumberjacks" were located where, and how many trees of each size managed to fit on each truck of the squads. She was playing quite a numbers game, quite fit of the mind. But, she wasn't cut out for the Hunger Games. She wouldn't last a day out there on her own. I was sorry to see that she wouldn't be coming back alive, more sorry for myself at this point.

I continued and took the stage beside Emerald, raising my head to act as confident and strong as possible. I knew the social game that the Games possess. First impressions from your body language are important to getting sponsors for the games. For my own sake, I needed to look strong, which I was fairly enough. I trained in most tracking, hunting and Native American techniques. I still possessed a slight red-tan skin tone from my ancestors which were raised from birth in the woods. Hopefully, the Capitol aristocrats that were betting on us as I stood here were impressed, and didn't just take me for the slender, on-the-short-side, 18-year old boy that stood before his District, silently saying his last words to all the people he would be leaving behind. My family will have the chance to say their final goodbyes to me once this ceremony is over. I gave a stern look at one of the cameras, not taking my eyes off it for several minutes, as Ruth fought back tears to give the normal speech about how the Games are mandatory to watch. Yeah, it's imperative that everyone, including my family and few friends, need to watch my death, televised all over the country. This is how heartless Panem has become.

Ruth finishes and both Emerald and I are escorted towards the train station.

"What about our families?" I spoke sternly to the guard holding my upper right arm.

"Unlike the past Games, you will not be able to say goodbye to them or anyone from your home here." the guard spoke as pompous as any Capitol fat-man could. My muscles tensed as I felt anger pulse inside me. My family... can't even say goodbye? Was this part of the twist of the Centennial Calamity? I looked over at Emerald who was being held by her left arm and walked beside me. She must have overheard what my guard had said, because I saw her eyes were glassy. I felt bad for her more than myself at this twist. She had a large family, of which she was the oldest, and too many friends from school and work to count. She even had friends in other Districts. District 1 mostly, since she moved from there to here. It was quite a downgrade from the richest District in the country to District 7, which was a lower middle class state. Her father apparently owns the lumber company I work for. I am surprised her father didn't manage to get Emerald's name pulled from the Reaping pools just from his status to the capitol.

"Emerald..." I could only manage to utter. I had no words to console her. I couldn't even console myself, or convince myself to loosen my clenched fists at my sides from anger. She seemed surprised, because she gave a slight gasp, which I might have mistaken for a sniffle, as she now had tears rolling down her face but, her head was held high. She's strong in composure, even under emotional stress. Maybe she has strength I haven't given her credit for.

We arrived at the station. I looked at the long purple and gold streaked train. It was a Capitol contraption, alright. This train only rolls into District 7 when there's something wrong with our industry, and the President, or one of his snobbish representatives comes to assess the damage and get a first hand account of how bad the damage was. A few years ago, I had just finished my last year of school and had been a scout for a month or so when the train rolled in with Representative Alabaster, who was the nicer of the Capitol blowhards I have met. He, like myself, was Native American in ancestry. I spoke with him as I accompanied him through the woods, as he looked around at the huge Evergreen trees that were cracked like toothpicks from a wind storm that uprooted many trees, and snapped others beyond use. He spoke with me about District 7 and how my life and family were doing. He didn't seem too concerned for the lumber at all, but he showed some concern for me. I didn't know if it was the Native American heritage we shared or something else, but he was the nicest Capitol Representative I ever met. It's damn near impossible to not become corrupt with greed when you are in the Capitol. Many a wise man have tried, and failed. Alabaster was different, he seemed to have succeeded since the re-established Panem, as he was one of the first to be offered the job.

"I'm glad to hear that your family is doing well. I just wish I could say the same for the forest here." he spoke, gazing at a large splintered fragment of a tree that towered above us.

"Sadly, I don't know how much we can do with all these trees that have been splintered this badly." I spoke, running my hand along a large fracture in one tall Hemlock, that was now unidentifiable to the untrained eye.

"Well, they would make good toothpicks." Alabaster jested and began to chuckle. I joined in his laughter for a moment. It was then I knew why Alabaster was so concerned for me.

"You're from District 7?" I asked, in slight shock.

"Yeah, I grew up here as a kid, until I was 20, then I moved to District 4, and have been there ever since. I still have a soft spot for this forest, I always have. I had to wrestle this job from another Representative so I could visit my old home."

"I didn't know, but the toothpick joke is a old one in District 7. 'Every scrap of wood has a use, even as toothpicks.' we always used to say." I spoke with some happiness, finally feeling like I was talking with another citizen of District 7, instead of with a Capitol fiend.

"I remember that quote quite well when I used to work in these woods, the same job you have, as a matter of fact." Alabaster gave me a nod and a whole-hearted smile. I just smiled back. This guy... how could he be from the Capitol and not be a corrupt bastard? I just told myself that he was one of the strong. The one to survive the green disease of cash that the Capitol infected everyone who stepped into it's borders with. We talked for another hour before heading back to the train.

"Thank you, Zexion." he spoke to me as we stepped onto the platform back at the station.

"No, thank you." I replied.

"For what?" he asked, confused.

"For showing me that not all Capitol people are bastards." I said, wishing I could retract that last word and replace it with something more censored.

"Don't be fooled, Zexion. Many few aren't... bastards. I have a soft spot for District 7. Anyway, thank you for escorting me." He shook my hand, got onto the train and sat down at a window seat upon the main car. I stood there, watching him through the tinted glass. Oddly, I didn't want him to leave. As the train began to move, he moved towards me. Through the glass, I saw him raise his hands and spread his fingers apart, palms towards me, placing his thumbs together. The hand looked like a head and the fingers looked like wings of a bird. That was a Native American hand sign of an eagle; the bird that symbolized strength, the guardian of the Native Americans. This symbol surprised me. Then I remembered back in the woods right as we were turning around to head back.

"Oh, look there!" I spoke, raising my gaze towards the sky as an eagle landed on the top of a short Cedar.

"Would you look at that? An _'atsá._"Alabaster spoke, giving me a wink out of the corner of his eye. I was shocked because speaking any other language besides English was considered a crime in all Districts. I knew most of the Navajo language myself, since that is where I was told my ancestors derived from. It seems he's part Navajo too. I never felt closer to anyone outside my District before. It felt like he was District 7 to me.

"The eagle..." I spoke, keeping my eyes trained on the eagle.

"I had a pet eagle once, when I was a kid. I named him _Yanaba Shilah._" Alabaster spoke, in a tone he had not used yet. One of almost a sadness.

"Brave Brother." I translated.

"Very good." Alabaster praised. I gave a small smile. The eagle cried as he gazed down at us.

"He was a small fledgling when I found him on the ground one day. He was just beginning to fly, but his mother and nest was no where to be found. He had just begun his life outside of his mother's teachings. I raised him, and taught him how to fly. He was my scout partner every day. He would find me in the woods when I whistled like this." he placed his hands to his mouth, and sent forth a whistle that mimicked an eagle cry. The eagle on the branch above returned the cry. I looked over at Alabaster, and for once I saw him give a true smile, one like a kid would have given at some little joyful thing.

"Do you think that's him?" I asked, knowing that it wouldn't be. It had been too long.

"I doubt it, but possibly one of his own family." he responded.

"Did he die when you were still in the lumber business?" I asked, seeing how willing he would be to trust me.

"No. My family decided to move to District 4, and I had to leave him behind. He knew when he landed on my arm that last day. I didn't need to say a word to him. I just hope he had his own family somewhere." he spoke, with saddened eyes.

"I'm sure he did, Alabaster... er... Representative Alabaster." I corrected myself, trying to console him.

"Call me _'Atsá Shizhe'e_." He gave me a smile like no one else had before. I was rather confused now.

"Here. Let me show you how to do the whistle." He showed me how to cup my hands just right, so when I would allow air through the small division in my hands, a high pitched cry would sound. After a few failed attempts, I did one just as good as he did.

"There you go!" He cheered. The eagle replied to me, and jumped off the branch and swooped down towards me. I held my arm out and he landed upon it graciously. The eagle's bright yellow eyes just peered into mine, as if trying to tell me something, but I couldn't comprehend.

"Seems he likes you. He has probably watched you walking through the woods for your job, Zexion." Alabaster seemed to speaks as if he was proud.

"I guess so..." I grinned at Alabaster and then I looked at the eagle, who cocked his head sideways. "What do you think? Do you want to be my scout partner? Do you like that?" I asked, as he blinked and cried.

"I'd take that as a yes. Looks like _Yanaba Shiye _is yours now." Alabaster laughed. I didn't want Alabaster to go, but it all made sense now, with that hand sign through the glass of the train. He felt the same way about me as I did to him. He was like the father I never really had. As the train pulled away, I gave the sign back, and could see the whites of his teeth glow through the tinted glass as he smiled back at me. I smiled and felt something I can't explain. _Yanaba Shiye_ accompanied me each day on my scouting trips. He would land atop ones that he learned were ones I wanted to mark for cutting. If I selected one that he didn't agree with, or one he saw was inhabited by squirrels or other birds, he would fly down to me, and land on my arm what was marking the tree. I would then leave that tree alone. He was the only friend I really had. I kept hoping Alabaster would return to join me.

Those moments came fleeting back to me when I saw the train. Alabaster was taken back to the Capitol by this train, and I never saw him again. Now, I was being taken to the Capitol, and I would never return either.

Just as I was about 10 feet from the train to get on board, the two guards standing to the left of the door, I heard a cry from behind me. My eyes widened in fear of that moment. I turned and saw _Yanaba Shiye _soaring down towards me, with a look of complete devastation. The guns of the two guards that escorted us raise to my right, behind me.

"NO! DON'T!" I shouted as I jumped straight towards the raised muzzles of the guard's guns.

Bang.


	3. Farewell and Hello

I felt a sudden release of pressure that centered around my left shoulder. I was blown backwards and was now looking up at the sky, which was beginning to set with a brilliant orange hue. It was then I saw him, bounding towards me; _Yanaba Shiye. _As he approached, I raised my right arm for him to land on and console me with his magnificent golden eyes. He got closer and closer then he hit the ground to my right. I tilted my head to look at him. He tried to move his wings to get up. I noticed his lower chest was gone. His legs lay mangled and his tail gone. His wings flap erratically in panic. I reach my right hand out and lightly touch his left wing. Immediately, he stops and looks at me, his eyes blinking into a calm gaze. I heard footsteps approach from my left side.

"Don't you DARE touch either of us!" I growled, and glared daggers at them, which made them stop in their tracks. I turned my gaze back to _Yanaba Shiye. _The bright orange sunset above us reflected in his eyes, as they kept blinking occasionally, becoming slower and slower to open again. I placed my hand under his head, and his beak opened slightly, and just kept his eyes trained on mine. I rose to sit up, my eyesight going black for a second, then returning. I felt a flood of warmth travel down my left side. I winced as I lifted _Yanaba Shiye _into my arms. For a long moment, I remained silent, not uttering a word, or crying a tear.

He took to the sky that warm spring day. He rose high into the sky, circled twice and dove straight downward. He spread his wings last second and launched his talons from behind his feather cloaked wings, and grasped a fish clean from the river. He flew over to me, and landed on the ground. Using his beak to dislodge the fish from his claws. He removed it and took to the sky again, for another aerial assault. He grabbed four fish that day, which tasted succulent and moist over a Cedar campfire. He I placed his fish on a stick, and made a little stand in which the stick sat. He just picked the meat from the stick until he was full. He would then hop onto my shoulder and keep looking around us. I would take him home only under cover of night and let him live in a small space in the eve of our house around back. I had a small electric heater and some mouse traps in that space for him. He could come and go as he pleased, but he knew about the Peacekeepers in the District not liking large birds flying inside the town, mainly because they would eat cats and once a falcon attacked a person, causing her to become blind. So, they have authority to shoot any large bird on sight without reason. _Yanaba Shiye _was shot at himself once. He was able to dodge the one bullet that was shot, before I tackled the guard who was shooting at him. Ever since, he has been very careful to only leave the space under cover of night, or with me. I know why he came to me at the train, but I wish he hadn't.

I held him in my hands. His body was becoming cold, his neck and wings were limp. I squinted my eyes, holding back tears, knowing I was the center of the Capitol's eye right now. He was my friend, the only one that ever really stuck by me. Just knowing he came for me, as if he thought he could help me; to save me. I closed my eyes and held him tightly, as if embracing him. I placed him on my lap, held my hands to my mouth, stained with both of our blood, and made that cry we used so often to signal to each other. I saw his beak open, but no noise came from it. He just kept looking at me. I looked down at him for a moment, then picked him up again held him in an embrace, his head looking over my right shoulder. I placed my left hand on the back of his head and closed my eyes. I recalled a song I heard in a movie. The movie wasn't about an eagle, but his appearance in the movie gave the insight and protection the eagle symbolizes. I began to mutter the words to him.

_I had a dream, of the wide open prairie.  
>I had a dream, of the pale morning sky.<br>I had a dream, that we flew on golden wings.  
>And we were the same - just the same - you and I.<em>

_Follow your heart, little child of the west wind.  
>Follow the voice, that's calling you home.<br>__Follow your dreams, but always, remember me.  
>I am your brother, under the sun.<em>

_We are like birds of a feather._  
><em>We are two hearts joined together.<em>  
><em>We will be forever as one.<em>  
><em>My brother under the sun.<em>

_Wherever you hear, the wind in the canyon._  
><em>Wherever you see, the buffalo run.<em>  
><em>Wherever you go, I'll be there beside you.<em>  
><em>'Cause you are my brother.<em>

_My brother, under the sun._

Snap.

With the last few words, I jerked his head sideways. He fell completely limp in my hands. I lowered him to the ground before me. I raised my hands to my mouth again, and let out a slower, lower pitched cry in mourning. The cry hung in the air, as I glanced about the station to see a crowd had gathered around the train. The silence dragged on, only broken by the distant cries of eagles from the woods on the other side of the station. The cries all mimicked my own.

"A knife, please?" I mummbled.

"We are forbidden to-" the guard began. "Give him a knife!" I looked up to see my mother standing at the front of the crowd, her hands cupped together at her chest.

"I'm sorry, we are not authori-" the guard attempted again. My mother stepped towards me, and took my hand, and set in it, a knife, my father's knife. The handle was obsidian, inlaid with ivory animals. A deer, a bear, a wolf and an eagle glistened against the glassy obsidian. The blade was a dazzling silver steel. I looked up at her, as she got up and walked back to her place in the crowd.

I looked at the blade for a while. Then slowly cut _Yanaba Shiye's_ legs from the little skin left attaching them to what remained of his chest. I also pulled seven feathers from his wings. I clutched the feathers and his legs in my hand lightly. I folded the blade back into the handle of the knife, and placed the knife deep in my side pocket of my black leather pant leg. I turned to face away from my mother then looked over my shoulder at her.

"Please, bury him, would you? Atop Eagle Point, under the tallest Cedar there. That is where I met him, it was also his favorite spot to look out over the valley..." I asked, and walked toward the train. I glanced over the crowd again. One face caught my eye; Emerald's parents.

"Emerald." I called.

"Y-yes." She wiped tears from her eyes.

"Your parents are here. Whether the Capitol likes it or not, you have the chance to say goodbye. So, do it." I looked over at her, a small smile crossed her face, and gave me a slight nod. I tuned out to what Emerald said, I was too busy looking at the feathers in my hand, and stroking one softly. The talons curved the light from the train's door. Sorrow is all I felt.

Emerald finished her words, and she turned to stand beside me for a moment, then she stepped through the door and onto the train. I followed behind her, glancing over my shoulder one last time to see my mother approaching _Yanaba Shiye_, and picking him up, wrapped in a cloth.

As soon as the door closed, I was rushed into a white, sterile room. My shirt was ripped off my back and I was hooked up to so many damn cables and wires that I felt like I became part robotic. I blacked out in a matter of a few minutes, and I woke up with a pain in my shoulder, and a bandage around my left shoulder. I could feel my skin tighter than normal, probably due to sutures or stitches from the gunshot wound. Figures, I was shot and the Capitol still won't let me go. They'll only lay off once we are all dead.

I managed to fumble with the wires and other things entering my body until I managed to free myself. I got up, went to the small closet and found my shirt, as well as my black leather pants, but the bullet hole was repaired in the shirt. It'll need to do until we get to the Capitol. I'm dreading the makeover portion of this entire Games, almost as much as the Games themselves. I checked to make sure I still had the feathers and talons. They were sitting on a table across the room. It was then I remembered the Obsidian handled knife. I slapped my hand against the outer side of my right knee and felt that it was still there. I felt okay, not that whatever chemical, probably morphling, that they had on the drip was beginning to clear out. I opened the door, and wandered around the train, trying to find Emerald. After 20 minutes of wandering, I found her sitting alone in a luxuriously decorated room of the train. The wall was entirely window, we could see distant lights and trees flash by the window in the dark. I silently slid the door open and made my way to a red cushioned seat in the corner.

Emerald and I sat in silence for a while. I stroked the feathers and allowed my thumb to trace each talon seven times before I said:

"You know... I admire the strength you have in all this. You just allowed tears to fall. You weren't hysterical like most girls whom I have seen be chosen for the Games." I kept my eyes pinned on my hands.

"Thanks...I prepare myself mentally like this every year. The only thing that makes me cry now if thinking of my family, or seeing them." she muttered. It was then I put it together. I shouldn't have pointed out her family at the station. It must have made her situation worse.

"I – I'm sorry for pointing out your family, if that is the case." I apologized.

"Don't apologize. I'm glad you did. I didn't say any goodbyes before because I thought we would have the time to say goodbye like all the past years. I needed to say those things. Thank you for giving me that chance, Zexion." she spoke, in a better mood it seemed.

"... Y-you're welcome." I responded, not knowing what else to say.

"My strength is nothing compared to yours, though. I mean..." she trailed off. I could feel her gaze on my hands and I continued to stroke the feathers. Silence introduced itself again for a while. Until Emerald finally spoke again.

"What do you plan to do with those?" Emerald asked, hesitantly.

"I'm not sure. I want to wear them into the Arena. That's if my stylist even allows me to." I spoke with a hint of dread.

"I'm sure who ever your stylist is will feel sympathetic to the situation, Zexion." Emerald tries to brighten the mood.

"Oh yeah, tell that to me when I come out dressed as a tree, like how District 7 has been portrayed most years." I lifted my head for the first time since walking in the room, with eye half open.

The door to the room opens revealing Ruth and another woman I recognize from District 7; Johanna Mason. I have seen her around a few times in District 7. Ruth wasn't a tribute, but she is being a mentor since no other Victors from District 7 are alive.

"So, what are your names?" She looks over Emerald first. "Oh, wait... you're that fancy lumber harvesters daughter, aren't ya?" She spoke to Emerald, getting in her face a bit.

"That's right, but could you back up a bit? You're a little close." Emerald gave a fake grin, which was clearly fake.

"Oh, I'm SO sorry I got inside your personal bubble, but sorry to break it to you honey, but kind words aren't weapons in the arena. So, you'll need to learn that people are going to treat you how they want and don't give a shit how close they get. They WANT to get close to you... in order to kill you. So, none of this goody-two-shoes bullshit." Johanna ranted to Emerald, turning her back and getting closer to Emerald.

"Enough." I growled, catching Johanna's attention.

"Well, well... you have some nerve, don't 'cha?" Johanna left Emerald's side of the room and walked over to me.

"I ought t-" I cut her off as I raised my foot and kicked her stomach, knocking the wind out of her and making her stagger back. Once she caught her breath, she approached me again. She just stood over me, allowing her shadow to eclipse all light from the overhead lights from my face. I looked up at her, and raised my eyebrow, giving a face of intimidation. After a moment of a staring contest, Johanna finally spoke up.

"You... have the attitude of someone who will do well in the arena." Johanna spoke in an unamused, and unimpressed, voice. "Except, what the hell are you holding here, boy?" she spoke, attempting to touch the feathers. My hand instinctively jumped from my hand to Johanna's throat. I clutched it, not hard enough to cause her to choke, but, I got to my feet, allowing my boots to stomp on the carpeted metal floor, and pushed her several feet back.

"You touch these, and you'll regret it." I growled. "Now, why don't you be mentors of some use and give us advice we don't already know?" I sat back down.

"Well, well... I like this kid." Johanna seemed impressed by my ass-hole like attitude towards her.

"First, I need to know what the hell I am working with." Johanna began.

"That's right! We need to know what both of you are good at and other stuff like that." Ruth added to my annoyance of such upbeat attitude in such a dark cloud over Emerald and my own lives.

"Well, let's start with you sweetheart." Johanna, whipped a wooden chair from a small table around, and sat with the backrest of the chain between her legs, resting her arms and head on the top of the backrest.

"Well, I went to school until 15, then left to work in my father's lumber harvesting and mill office. I was assistant lumber squad coordinator." Emerald began.

"Did you ever work out in the forest, or do something of use. Wield a weapon, ANYTHING?" Johanna spoke, giving a sense of complete let-down.

"Well, no... I never worked in the woods. I was always in the office. My father was a little overprotective about me being in the woods with a bunch of adult males. Uh... I don't know much about weapons... Sorry." Emerald gave a fake smile again at Johanna. I can tell that Ruth is Emerald's kind of mentor. Seems like I am stuck with Johanna.

"Emerald, go off with Ruth and talk. I guess Johanna will be my mentor for private matters." I spoke. Emerald was just waiting for the invite to leave, because she hopped out of her seat and left before I even finished.

"Well, aren't you the little shot caller? Well, how about you then, kid? What worth do you have?" Johanna turned the chair to me, and crept it closer, placing the feet of the chair about 5 feet away from me.

"I also worked in Emerald's father's lumber business. I am a scout in the largest lumber squad there. I am fairly decent at a bow and arrow, slingshot and am nearly master at swordsmanship, self-taught. I live in the woods, for the most part." I speak.

"Well, maybe District 7 isn't all loser this year, unlike little miss overprotected glass bones and paper skin girl there."

"She's part of the District you are mentoring, you are going to help her just as much as I am, right?" I ask forcefully.

"Yeah, yeah... whatever you say there stern-ass. I suppose that's my job, in any case." Johanna spoke, getting up out of her seat and turned to face away from me.

"You'd better give her just as much sponsor gifts as I get. She has the social appeal to get enough sponsors to give her things. I'll be a tougher one to win the sponsors over with." I reasoned.

"Well, you have quite a few looking at you already." Johanna informed me.

"Oh, really? Why would anyone be looking at me already?" I asked, interested.

"Well, the way you handled killing your feathered friend at the station helped. You didn't cry or anything, and you had no fear in killing your friend of all people. No one is biting yet, but they are looking at you. So, don't do anything stupid to make them lose sight of you." Johanna continued.

"Good, alright then. Now then, anything else for the night?" I asked, yawning.

"Well, if you don't want anything else, I'm out for the night." Johanna spoke, turning to me a stretching her arms above her head. Her shirt rode up a little too high for any event even slightly public.

"Is there any way I could get a sheet of plain brown leather, and maybe some leather or hemp cord?" I asked, looking down at the feathers and talons still in my hand.

"Oh, is THAT for your feathers and claws there, boy?" Johanna asked snobbishly.

"First of all, my name is Zexion. Got it? And, yes it is. Can you get me some or not?" I spoke sternly, giving the raised eyebrow again.

"Oh, I am SO scared of that face. Eh, I'll see what I can do about that. Your stylists should be getting to you soon, an hour or so after dinner, so you can ask them if you don't get any before then." Johanna spoke, walking to the door. She showed some caring aspect there, at last. I don't know if it's because I talk back to her just as much as she dishes out, but it seems to be a decent relationship right now. With any luck, we'll work out just fine... with ANY luck at all.

After a half hour or so of thought, Emerald came in and told me that our rooms were made and we should go to them and that dinner would be served there. I got up and walked to the right, down a long hallway until I saw a room with my name on it. There on the bed, sat a small 1 foot by 1 foot sheet of brown leather, stiff and a half used spool of hemp cording. I gave a small grin at the sight. Johanna must be beginning to like me or something. I'm not complaining. I walked in and slid the door closed, sat down on my bed and worked a circle about 3 inch diameter. I made two rings of small slits inside the disc of leather. One by one, I took the seven feathers and placed the quill end of the feathers into the notches, making a circle with the feathers. I had one point straight up, and left a space to each side of this one, and placed the other six feathers continuously on the bottom half of the disk. I moved onto the talons. I took out the knife again, admiring the handle's glinting in the incandescent light in the room, and began to whittle the flesh of the feet away from the talons. Once I got all 8 talons free from the rest of the foot, I used the tip of the knife to bore a hole into each of the talon heads, where it attached to the foot. After this, I made leather spacers with the remaining stiff leather and made the talons into a necklace. I draped it over my head and wore it like a choker, but gave it a little slack. I got up and looked at it in the mirror, glad with the homemade look. I heard a knock on my door, and Emerald spoke:  
>"Zexion, time for dinner. Go towards the front of the train two cars and you can't miss it. Okay?" Emerald sounded in a better mood. Ruth must have helped her after all. I'm glad she's better. I feel better too, now wearing my talon necklace.<p>

"Okay, I'll be there in a few minutes." I called back, still in a down tone.

"Okay, I smell pasta and cheese, so I expect it's going to be delicious food. Better not be late of Johanna might eat it all." Emerald giggled as she walked away. Yeah, she is in a better mood. Funnily enough, she was right. Johanna would eat everything before I got there.

I picked up the feather and leather disk and tried to find a quick way to fasten it to my hair. I took some of the hemp cording, made two holes in the disk's center, and used the cording to fasten the disk to a bundle of hair at the back of my head. My hair hands about half way down my shoulders, in a slightly wavy tail. Happy with the new gear, I clean up a bit and head for dinner.

I enter the dinning room, relieved to see that food hasn't been placed on the table yet. Johanna and Ruth were sitting opposite each other, and Emerald was sitting beside Ruth. That leaves me sitting next to Johanna. Great...

I took a seat next to Johanna. Getting looks from the other three.

"What is with the looks?" I asked, glancing at each one.

"The hairpiece mostly. It's looks... um..." Emerald came up short.

"It looks really stupid!" Johanna began laughing. I rolled my eyes and punched her shoulder, hard enough to knock her sideways out of her chair.

"Well, FINE then, bird boy." Johanna continued.

"Did you not learn from your fall to the floor just now?" I lectured.

"Apparently." Johanna replied with sarcasm. I just left the discussion at that. Another 30 minutes passed and now food arrived.

"What is going on with the food service here?" Johanna asked, clearly irritated, which put none of us in a better scenario. "I am going to the kitchen to see what is holding them." Johanna got up and stomped from the room.

"How did she win her Games, anyway?" I asked, rubbing my forehead.

"She acted weak, so people would underestimate her." Ruth informed us.

"She acted weak? How can she suppress that raging bull attitude of hers?" Emerald spoke, trying to lighten the mood.

"Just be lucky you have Ruth as your main mentor. Johanna is tough to get anything from." I yawned, leaning back in my chair.

"I suppos-" Emerald began when Johanna came bursting through the door from the kitchen.

"There IS no great meal!" Johanna shouted.

"What? No meal? How is that possible. It's regulation for the Hunger Gam-" Ruth rose to her feet.

"Yeah, for the normal Hunger Games. It seems this is part of the twist of the Centennial." Johanna, slammed her fist on the table. "All, we get is stuff that our Districts would have provided their residents as food."

"So, we get stuff harvested from the forest, maybe some small fish and nuts and berries from the forest. I'm fine with that, it's healthier anyway." I placed my hands behind my head, fingering the leather feather piece.

"Zexion's right. It's better we eat enough to keep us fit instead of filling ourselves overly with sweets." Emerald agreed.

"Well, go into the kitchen and cook it then. The cooks were instructed to not cook for us. I can't cook so, that leaves one of you three to cook for us." Johanna sat down, crossed her legs and closed her eyes in a pouting face. Ruth turns to Emerald.

"Can you cook game meat? I am always working, so I usually have my meals made for me." Ruth says. Emerald shakes her head.

"I can cook normal beef and such, but not game meat."

"I'll go." I spoke, getting to my feet and walking into the kitchen. Leaving Ruth and Emerald very confused.

I walked into the fridge and saw various different birds, fish, and even a large leg of deer. At the back was a variety of nuts and berries. I grabbed a whole bunch of things and scrambled around the kitchen. In a few minutes, the rich smell of meat was floating through the air. I made no prepared plates, just large chunks of things that they would pull their portions from. I grilled about 20 fish, half the leg of venison, a turkey, a few grouse and seasoned all of it with a special berry-nut-herb sauce I developed all of the many times I ate fish in the woods.

After an hour and a half, Johanna came busting through the doors.

"You had better give me SOMETHING to eat before I eat your friend in there." Johanna finished and saw the mass amounts of food set out on hotplates.

"You made all this?" Johanna looked shocked for once.

"Yeah." I replied, too busy sweating over a flattop grill with the last 5 fish sizzling over it. After a few minutes, I flung the last 5 into the basin with the fish and sauce in it, and called everyone in to eat.

After a few minutes of surprising commenting over the meal, we all dug in and had our fill, with quite a bit left over.

"Where are our stylists? They are behind now, aren't they?" I asked, almost fearing the answer.

"Yeah, they will get to you in the morning or something" Johanna slurred through a mouthful of venison. Well, that was good news. One more night of being myself before I am completely removed of my identity.

I cleaned the kitchen up, and at about 10:30 pm, everything was done, so I headed to my room. I took off the hairpiece and set it on the table next to my bed and flung myself onto the bed, where sleep came quickly.

I opened my eyes to see three faces glaring at me. It nearly scared me enough to go into fight-or-flight mode and tear them all apart. The first face was one with black and white streaked hair, not of age, but of dye. Her eyelids were painted with red and outlined with black. Her outfit was a royal blue and gold jumper, but fancier. The second face was that of a male who had natural colored blonde hair, about four inches long, but was spiked into all different directions. His face had little change by surgical means, but he did have some wisps and other markings, that looked similar to tattoos but not as dark or defined spreading along the cheekbones and sides of his face. He wore a plain black casual shirt and tie. The third face was of a woman, who didn't look as feminine or masculine as the other two had. A medium look. Shoulder length black hair, long eyelashes, some stenciled in eyebrows, but realistic, and dressier blue jeans with a golden shirt that wasn't too revealing, nor not much of a tease.

I was pulled out of bed so quickly, I didn't have time to think about how much I was going to hate this part. I was just told to stand in the center of the room, with nothing on, while the three flew around me like flies, "inspecting" me. As...weird... as I felt, I just wanted this to be over with so, I didn't fight anything. I just hoped that they weren't going to do anything drastic. The wait was horrible. What list could they be making that would take them this long to form?

" I don't know if there is much we can do, honestly." The blue jumper woman said.

"I agree, maybe some slight shaping of the hairline, but we can leave that for him to do. What else? Hmmmm..." the black suited guy added.

"Well, it seems we have little to do. He just wanted Zexion to be natural. If he had anything cosmetic done, we would have had our hands full. Thanks for being so plain, darling." the lady with the gold shirt purred. This wasn't as bad as I thought. Did I luck out that my stylist seems to want to keep things natural? '"Natural". Then it came to me... please don't let my stylist be one of those that prefers the tributes to be entirely stark naked. PLEASE. I just began to mentally hope that I wasn't that unlucky.

"Well, we'll send him to see you in about... 10 minutes, okay, Zexion? He's finishing up dinner now. By the way, brilliant sauce." The black suited guy commented before he stepped outside.

"Wait, you ate my food?" I commented, rather confused.

"Of course! It was delicious. We had some servants sneak in and grab some for us." the blue jumper hopped slightly. I did notice that some people snuck in, but there was plenty to go around, so I made no fuss over it. I assumed it was for the driver of the train or something.

"Well, you're welcome." I had nothing else to say.

"Well, ta-ta, Zexion." The blue jumper added, and closed the door.

I exhaled. Well, no major makeover, but I will feel better once I know who my stylist is and what he wants me to wear, if anything...

I got dressed, because as small this train is, it's still rather cold. I sat on my bed admiring my handiwork with my feather headpiece and the talon necklace until my eyes eventually fell shut. Then, I heard a knock on my door, but no voice came from behind the door. I didn't respond, waiting for a voice. Another knock.

"Come in." I called.

I heard the door open, and focused myself to clear my mind and have an open mind about who my stylist looked like. I heard his footsteps stop, about 2 paces into the room. He didn't have a heavy gate, so... I assumed he was of average size. He wasn't wheezing or gasping, so he has to be of decent health and not be sick.

"Hello, Zexion." I heard him speak. Not a voice I felt instinctive fear or worry about. It was a sort of a soothing voice. I was glad to hear he wasn't old, or too young either, both of which could be devastating to the image I would like to have in the arena.

"Hey." I replied as I opened my eyes and I was speechless as to who I saw standing there.


	4. Long Distances

DISTRICT 1 REAPING:

Unlike the reapings from our District in the past, we no longer volunteer to be reaped. All 12 Districts now despise the Capitol with a passion, that we have joined the same method of choosing tributes as the other Districts; by lottery. The town square is full of well dressed, glistening, multicolored people. The glistening from sunlight on jewelery and glitter on skin reflected into the multicolored faces, dyed by the latest and greatest cosmetic concoctions to have emerged from our District. We are known for our glitz and glamor, mainly because that is what we specialize in selling, luxuries. I stand in the center of District 1, feeling the heat radiating off the golden blocks paving the square. As if I wasn't sweating due to nerves already, the last thing I wanted to do is stand here in these fucking cattle pens they have the possible tributes in. I'm nothing more than fresh meat to the people standing on the stage, except for the skinny, anemic woman, who needs to be clinging to life by plastic surgery, lifts her left hand into the air, which seems to sag just by gravity itself. She is stuttering the same old boring ass speech that they repeat to us year after year. If I wasn't nervous to be forced to fight, instead of picking my own fights like in school, I would be asleep on the warm stone ground. I rolled my eyes so much they hurt and mocked her words, since I have heard this speech enough times to recite it by heart, holding down bile in the process. She dips her dropping hand into the fishbowl of blue slips, designating the males. She takes out a slip, but doesn't open it. She moves onto the bowl of pink slips and pulls one out with her right hand. Holding both slips, she then shuffles over to the microphone again. It feels like an eternity has passed, only making her look more aged by the second, when she finally manages to make her shaking hands open the blue slip, she spits into the microphone.

"The Male Tribute from District 1 is... Irvine Dusk."

Irvine, huh? I wished it wasn't him, but that's how the Games work. I have no sympathy for Irvine now, not after he and I had a fight at school, over... I don't remember what the fight was about. He was quite a force, but I held my ground against him. He always irritated me, with just a look. He always had that pompous, I'm-better-than-you look on his face. I saw him make his way from the crowd. Then I heard some girls beside me gasp and exclaim.

"He's as good as dead... with what happened... he doesn't stand a chance."

"Yeah, it wasn't his fault that he got beat up before the Games..."

"What happened to him anyway?"

I had a feeling I knew what happened. Even in the richest District, there are still the hierarchy of rich vs. poor among the rich. Irvine was... an oddball. He denied all of the glitz our District is known for. He didn't dress the same way. He dressed mostly in dark clothing, nothing shiny whatsoever. He was the dull among the bright and fashionable. He was teased for that. Even though he was the strongest among us, clearly, by his well built figure. His upper arms are easily the size on my legs. The spin around his neck was tight and muscular enough to have his shoulder and collar bones protrude from underneath the skin. He was always on his own. I expected he was lifting weights in his basement or something during this time. Come to think of it, I don't think I even know what his voice sounds like. He seemed to speak with his eyes, his look expressing what he would be saying. Could he even talk? It had just crossed my mind now. He not like the muscle-heads they show on television though. He wasn't angry, just... almost lonesome. I guess I met him on a bad day of his or something, because I haven't seen him angry, or show any other emotion other than that time he and I had that fight, which wasn't much of a fight as much as it was a simple stare-and-stand off.

It was a cold winter day, even in the Capitol. I was outside playing soccer on the fields outside. I don't like sports, but this was for gym and I needed to show some effort in order to at least pass. I was on defense, and I kicked the ball as hard as I could to get it to the other team's end, but I kicked the ball, and I miscalculated... entirely. It went completely the wrong way. Instead of going left, it went right, and picked up air. The ball hurdled straight for the shaggy black back of someone's head on the sidelines. Little did I know it was "Mr. Cold-Dark-and-Emo". The ball impacted his head and sent it jerking forward, it made him lean over slightly in recoil. He raised his head again and looked over his shoulder at me, slightly pivoting his feet as I ran over to him to get the ball, which had fell directly behind him. I approached and bent down to grab the ball as he turned around and stomped his foot with enough force that it made the ball roll to the right from it's original position right as my hands were about to grasp it. I looked up at him, as he looked down at me, with his eyebrows pushed into a scowl enough to cause a his forehead to wrinkle, eyes half open; those black spheres like daggers that taunt anyone who is on the wrong end of them. This immediately set me off.

"Why are you looking at creepily? You are the one who got in the way, bastard!" I responded getting to my feet, glaring back at him. His face only tightened at my comment.

"Oh, did that hurt, cupcake?" I responded. He leaned his head to one side, sending forth a flurry of crackling. Normally this would gross me out and make me skive, but I was beyond irritated at this point, and it only made me feel angrier. I only glared back. After a handful of seconds, he placed one fist inside the other and cracked his knuckles. Each crack only made me more pissed. I could feel a vein in my forehead pounding. One more crack and I was going to flip shit and claw those black eyes. He quickly slammed his right foot again and reached out and pushed me back, making me trip over the soccer ball, now right behind me. When I realized what happened, Irvine was holding a soccer ball in his hands. He looked down at me, then turned slowly and walked away. He had dealt the first blow in this bad friendship by making me trip.

"She tripped because she's afraid of Irvine!" I heard taunts from my classmates across the field, who I now realize were watching the face-off. I would never live that moment down. The girl who was apparently "scared" of a muscle-headed loner and who trembled when he cracked his knuckles, enough to make me trip and look like a fool. That moment always made me hate him, even though I rarely saw him after that about 6 or 7 weeks ago.

He emerged from the crowd of boys and it was then I realized what everyone was talking about. Irvine had several bandages covering his arms and one large one around his forehead and skull. He also was walking with a slight limp. The boys at school were brutal. I heard about the plan to make him see who the real tough guys were in school, and I heard the plan, and wanted it to happen. But now... that he has been reaped and stood less of a chance due to his injuries, I feel guilty of not telling him.

He walked up to the stage, as many of the crowd whispered. His footsteps, even nonrhythmic due to the limp, still shook the stage. The aging lady then read the pink slip.

"The female tribute from District 1 is... Zalia White."

I felt my heart drop to my feet, not our of fear, but out of fear, but knowing that I would need to spend my last part of my life working alongside Irvine. I walked to the stage. I was always a fighter, and to be honest, I sort of wanted to be picked. If we were allowed to volunteer like before the government fell, I would have done so long ago.

I took the stage and held my head up, but knowing I wouldn't have a chance, even against Irvine in his condition made me lament ever even wanting to participate. Perhaps someone else will kill him before I would need to face him.

The reaping ended and we were hurried onto the train, without the customary private goodbyes from our family and friends. Both Irvine and I were forced into a small, well furnished room where we awaited some sort of information or for your mentors to arrive. And so the time needing to bite my tongue and tolerate Irvine had begun.

EMERALD'S POV:

"Want to watch the Reapings from the other districts, Emerald? Seems like Zexion is busy meeting his stylist at the moment. He can watch them later if he wants. We have the longest trek to the Capitol anyway." Ruth asked sweetly.

"I guess so... after the meal, I am in better spirits." I replied with a sweet smile. Truth was, I still feel depressed, but seeing the reapings will make me feel more at ease since I know I'm not one of two facing almost certain death.

"Okay, first is District 1's reaping."

I watched as the severely overaged woman pulled both slips and called the Male tribute; Irvine Dusk. This kid looked remarkably strong, but the bandages and limp... he might not be as much of a contender as we think. Could it be a ploy to gain sympathy from the others? He doesn't need to use tricks like that though, with what he looks like. Could it be real? But, who could cause him injuries. He seems like he could take on numerous foes at once in a fight. It must have been an accident, unfortunate for him, but fortunate for the rest of us.

The woman began to announce the female tribute.

"Zalia White." The television sounded. I gasped and covered my mouth as I stared startle-eyed at the screen. Ruth gasped and stood up.

"What is it, Emerald? Do you know her?" I was speechless for a minute, as I watched Zalia make her way from the crowd and onto the stage. It was her... my closest friend from District 1.

"Y-Yeah... She was my... best friend...when I lived in District 1, before I moved to District 7. Her and I were inseparable... I just can't... believe she was chosen." It was then I noticed my eyes welling up with water. All I could think of was all the times we had together. We had so much fun together. It was devastating when I found out I needed to move away, but now... it's worse. At least one of us was going to die, after we reunited in the Capitol no doubt. It's going to hurt if we ever meet up in the Arena. Even if we team up, eventually one of us will need to die, and practically take the others heart with us. I dropped my head, allowing tears to stream from my eyes and land on the carpeted floor with a "pat". It was then I felt a hand settle on my shoulder. I glanced shyly back to see Zexion standing there.

"It'll be okay, Emerald. You'll be able to reunite with her again. It's better than staying away from each other in the separate Districts, right?"

"I guess you're right." I stuttered, wiping tears from my eyes.

"Could we play that again? I missed the Male Tribute before I came in." I asked Ruth to rewind.

ZEXION'S POV:

The reaping started over just before the Male was announced.

"Irvine Dusk, huh? He's powerful for sure. I wonder how agile he is with all that muscle, not to mention the injuries." I commented.

The tape continued to play, announcing Zalia's name. Emerald needed to turn away from the tape beside me upon a second watching. My look when Irvine was announced changed entirely with Zalia appearing on screen. It was a different feeling this time. I asked Ruth to replay it again. I wanted to see if the feeling as the same again. And again, the feeling arose suddenly, just upon seeing her. I squinted my eyes and tilted my head slightly.

"She's... absolutely..." I trailed off. "It's a shame she was reaped. She doesn't stand a chance."

-SLAP-

I took a step back and stared at Emerald with a look of confusion, she returned a look of anger. She got me good, my face stung now.

"What did I say?" I asked, placing a hand to my face. Just as I thought, my cheek was burning hot.

"Zalia... is STRONG! Don't you dare say that she doesn't stand a chance, Zexion!" Emerald began to show emotion I had never seen her show; anger. She took a step towards me, placing a finger on my chest. "DON'T... YOU... DARE!" She poked me harder and harder with each word. I grabbed her hand tightened my grip around it and pushed it aside. Which only made her recoil with a backhand slap on the opposite cheek, a hard enough one to make my head lurch to the side. I turned my head back towards her, my left eye closed in a wince.

"Take it easy!" I spoke, irritated.

"I can't believe this is happening. I don't want her to..." Emerald trailed off, turned away from me.

"I guess we'll need to make sure she doesn't then." I spoke, turning away from Emerald.

"W- what?" Emerald stuttered through tears.

"You heard me!" I spat back.

"Are you propo-"

"Yes, I am." I glanced over my shoulder at her, no expression on my face. Emerald turned towards me and immediately leaped at me, giving me little time to turn around and catch her arm.

"Thank you." was all she replied with. I replied with silence, and let go of her arm.

"Your stylist should be in your room now, Emerald. Go meet him or her. I already met mine." I said after a moment, with a strange feeling still persistent in my chest.

"Okay." Emerald finally showed the smile again and dashed out of the room. Ruth followed, wanting to meet the stylists herself as well.

I was alone now, my face still stung like bees had gone to town on it and the other reapings were still playing on the television. I sat down and re-winded to the beginning again. I paused it at Zalia's face upon the stage and I just stared for a while. I thought about what I just suggested. Why did I suggest an alliance? I didn't mention it for Emerald's happiness to return. It had nothing to do with the friendship Emerald and Zalia had.

I had my own personal reasons for an alliance.

I just stared into the still screen for a while, before turning it off and returning to my room.

Perhaps being sentenced to almost certain death was giving me new life.


	5. A Tangled Web of Confused Vibes

My room has a television, I learned later. I noticed it had a built in DVD player. I made my way back to the room where Emerald, Ruth and I had watched District 1's reaping and snatched the recording of the other District reapings from the player. On the way back to my room, I remembered what I said earlier.

_Yeah, I'll meet you in the dining car later. We can just... talk, I guess._

I nearly forgot. Emerald's slap must have distracted me, that or the arrangement already planned in my head caused me to. I walked to the second to last car in the train. He was sitting about half way across the room, in one of the tables bolted to the floor.

"Sorry... I got caught up with something." I said, standing beside his table, placing my hand against my left cheek.

"Whoa... What happened to you?" He spoke, confused.

"Uh... " I couldn't reply, as what did happen came into my mind.

"It looks like you got your ass kicked." he joked, getting up and grinning.

"Ha, uh.. yeah... Do you want to head back to my room. I'd like to talk in private, being my stylist and all. I'd rather talk about... you know... ME, behind closed doors." I asked.  
>"That's perfectly fine. Here though, I got this for you." He hands me a covered cup. I take it and feel that it's hot. I decide to simply let it cool before trying it. We begin to walk down the hallway, and I immediately feel more relaxed after Emerald's slap made me feel so tense. It's been a weird day, frankly.<p>

We get to my room and I slide it open and allow him to enter first. I throw myself onto the small bed against the wall, folding my arms behind my head. The stylist walks across the room and sits in a small armchair about 5 feet from the bedside.

"So, I didn't get a chance before to ask how District 7 has been." the stylist asked, glancing over at me, as if he really cared. He's the first person that actually gave a look as if he actually cared for what he was talking about.

"Well, we're okay." I paused to sip the drink he had given me. "The lumber industry hasn't been hit hard sin-" I stopped, feeling a rush as I swallowed the mouthful of the semi-transparent liquid. "You're kidding?" I asked him, getting worked up.

"I see you remember that taste, huh?" he gives a delighted grin.

"Yes, It's Ev-"

"Evergreen Tea. I never thought I would taste this again. Only the rich in District 7 get to dri- How did you -?" I asked, taking another sip, eyes running wild, not knowing what to do with myself.

"I wanted to make it to the remaining time you had before the Games as filled with comfort as possible. And since I was able to bring my own belongings since I am not a competitor of the Games, I managed to smuggle some of the tea in." He winked while pulling a small notepad from his back pocket. I sipped the drink steadily, feeling the soothing aroma enter my nose as the liquid touched my lips and slid over my tongue. He was right, this did calm my nerves, almost erasing the whole thought of facing certain death within a short time period.

He gets up from the armchair and stands 3 feet from me. I look up at him really looking at who he was. The flashback from my shock earlier on re-enters my mind and I enter a deja-vu moment. Sudden ly the train car disappears around me. The gently whir of the engine dies off, the solid, caged feeling melts away and I am embraced by the woods again. I hear footsteps behind me and I turn to see him standing there.

"I heard what happened to _Yanaba Shiye. _Such a pity." He spoke, raising his head to look over my shoulder at a nearby tree. On a branch of the tree, was a grayish-blue apparition of a bird.

"_Yanaba Shiye..." _I whispered in disbelief.

"It's okay, he tried to protect you, just as a _Atsá Shi-"_

"Just as a _Atsá Shizhe'e _would. I knew it was you, but somehow my mind didn't want me to make the connection." I chimed in as my memory rushed away with my realization. I looked up at the man before me.

"Alabaster!" I cried out, and leapt to my feet, tossing the empty cup to the floor, letting it roll away in an arc.

"Zexion, it's good to see you. You've grown so much since that day I met you."

"How?... When?... Why?... I thought you were a representative, not a stylist. What happened?"

He told me everything. How his job was leading him to become corrupted. He realized it after his wife left him a few months before.

"So... you got out of the Capitol business, but why a stylist?"

"The stylist is the one who ushers out the tributes, shows the pride of the District itself. I was quite in tune with artistry in my younger years. I went with the Capitol job for the money, not for the enjoyment of the job. Now, I am choosing enjoyment over profit." he spoke, giving an embarrassed grin.

"I'm glad you are. I..." My words became stuck in my throat. I wanted to say what was in my mind so badly, but my mouth didn't want to move.

Alabaster made a noise, as if awaiting something.

"Nothing. I am glad you are here." I shook it off.

"So, where'd you get this beauty?" He asked, motioning to his own cheek.

"Oh... uhh... The other tribute from this District got upset at something I said, and sort of... uh, slapped me." I gave a fake smile... I was honestly embarrassed about it... She got me good, and I didn't even react. My reflexes were so disoriented thinking about Zalia.

"Ah... so, she clobbered you over a comment? Hmm... you had best watch out for her in the arena, the girls are the most deceptive ones out there." Alabaster winked at me. "Especially the ones who are defending a friend."

"Huh?... How'd you know she was tal-"

"Oh please... The slap and arguing was loud enough to be heard in the lead train, with the engine blaring. Nearly broke the windows with the noise" He cut me off and laughed. Oh, great...Emerald was making a fool out of me already. I sighed and rolled my eyes slightly... then looked at Alabaster, who then broke into more laughter, of which I could only begin to chuckle to.

"So... I peeked around the corner to see Emerald them 'fell into your arms' after she slapped you and screamed at you. What did you say to changed her mood so quickly?" He asked, raising his hands for air quotes.

"I suggested an alliance for us and the girl tribute in District 1; Zalia White."

"Oh-oh. And why this girl you have never met? She might not be worth aligning with." He speaks, raising an eyebrow.

"Umm... Well, Emerald asserts that Zalia is strong. If she's right, she'll be of worth."

"Is that the only reason? You seem like you're trying to make Emerald happy here." He raised his eyebrow and folds his arms. This makes me uncomfortable. He's right of course... he can see right through me.

"What's that look for?" I clench my fists slightly, looking at him."

"Oh, you don't need to say anything. Your face says all I need to know." Alabaster saying, giving a sly smile. I narrow my eyes in as plain a glare as I can fake. _He knows my better than I know myself_, I think to myself.

"So, how about we discuss what you want the entry costume for the Capitol to be, hm?" He changes the subject, to my great relief.

"Umm.. I don't know... As long as I am wearing more than a loying cloth, I won't really complain." I shrug.

"I was thinking we play off the experience that happened at the train station, with _Yanaba Shiye_. You have the claws and feathers. We should play off that, since that moment is what the other Distircts are raving over."

"They are? It was televised?" I was shocked and my hopes had been let down of my near breakdown over a pet bird. "What are the Districts saying?"

"It's a mix. Some are thinking of you as a skilled hunter since you somehow tamed a wild animal to defend you with it's life. Others, see it as a weakness that you were hurt so much about a pet of all things. Some are seeing the emotional strength in mercifully killing your friend, on camera." Alabaster spoke sternly. "Back to the costume..."

"Alright. Like what?" I ask, releasing a sigh in remembering my eagle friend.

"How about going somewhat predictable? An Ancient Native; a Navajo?" Alabaster proposed, looking at me for a reaction.

"I agree. But what outfit do you have in mind?" I asked, feeling relieve the outfit won't be exotic to me.

"Well, I would think some ceremonial costumes of the Navajo. I'll need to research them a bit and get my assistants on making the costumes. They'll be kind of extravagant. You'll catch the eyes of everyone surely." Alabaster replied.

"If you say so..." I was sort of nervous of it being TOO extravagant.

"However, If know their outfits are usually themed off on animal. I would avoid over using the bird motif. So, another animal?

"I have always liked wolves. So, go with that." I was sort of getting excited that my stylist actually cares for my opinion. I just hope my hopes aren't rising only to be crashed to Earth again, making it worse than if I had been miserable all along.

"I'll pass along this idea to Emerald's stylist. I haven't actually met her yet." Alabaster rose to his feet and turned. Half stride, there's a knock on the door to this section of the car.

"Mind if we discuss some clothing designs with you?" a middle aged woman peeks into the room.

"Absolutely, I was just going to discuss an idea with you." Alabaster walked over, welcoming Emerald and the stylist in.

"Oh, were you now? Well, do tell what you have in mind, sir." She speaks with a slightly higher pitched voice, but not enough to be annoying, at least not yet.

"Alright. Well, playing off Zexion experience at the train station. We keep to the theme of nature itself. Humans and nature in complete balance. The only beings to achieve that is the Natives. The Navajo that lived on the land in District 7 thousands of year ago. So, I was suggesting matching Ceremonial Navajo costumes." Alabaster explained with grace. I watched Emerald's face. Whatever Alabaster was saying was surely better than what they had in mind, because she slowly grew a look of excitement.

"I like that better than ours, miss." Emerald spoke softly as she looked at her stylist.

"I do too. So it's settled." She spoke, turning to Alabaster. "So, what do you need for these outfits?"

"Well, for starters, I need an animal for Emerald that lives in District 7." Alabaster glanced over to Emerald.

"Hmm... A deer!" Emerald spoke with such an upbeat attitude, only one I could envy. How can she be THIS upbeat with death looming ahead?

"Oh-oh... a deer." Alabaster spoke, glancing in the corner of his eye at me with a coy smile. I returned his glance with a confused smirk. I know what he was thinking, and he got the wrong idea entirely.

"A wolf and a deer. Alright. That's all I need. Ma'am, are you familiar with Navajo costumes?" Alabaster rose to his feet and began to escort Emerald's stylist out of the room, leaving Emerald and I alone. I let out a sigh as they left and collapsed on the bed.

"What is your stylist name, anyway? She never gave it." I asked, slightly annoyed at Alabaster's jab.

"She's bad at introducing herself. I had to ask her for her name about 5 minutes into talking about ideas." Emerald chuckled. "Her name is Meredith."

"Hmm... Quite an old style name, huh?" I reacted nonchalantly.

"Yeah..." She replied not knowing what to say. Emerald approached the bed and sat down near my feet. "What did Alabaster do? He looked at you and now you seem irritated."

"I am... he gave me a look like he read my mind. I mean... I do know him and stuff, but... he doesn't know what's in my mind.

"You KNOW him? Like before now? That's so cool seeing a familiar face here." she spoke, giving her typical happy grin. I have to hand it to her, she plays off being happy very well.

"Yeah, he was a Representative who visited a few years ago and I escorted him to view damage to the Lumber industry in District 7. We talked for a while in the woods there. He was around when I got my pet eagle."

"Ohh...So what did he read your mind about?" she chimed. This only annoyed me... she was part of the thing that he was annoying me with.

"It's nothing, just something we were talking about earlier." I closed my eyes and flexed my neck side to side.

"So, do you think the costume idea is a good one? I am quite excited to see how my deer costume comes out." She spoke, perking up again.

"I guess. I just hope the wolf they use isn't played on the 'cute' scale."

"Oh, and why wouldn't you want it to play on the cute scale? Wolves can be cute?" Emerald rose to her feet and approached the head of the bed.

"They can also be menacing." I replied.

"Touche. They can be, but they care for the rest of the pack, right? They love each other." He words were burning me. Why am I getting a feeling that Alabaster isn't the only one catching the wrong vibes.

"I guess they do, but numbers are important to them. Less wolves is less power. They keep their members alive and healthy for strength." I replied back, rising to a sitting position my back against the wall. As I spoke, Emerald sat down at my side and sat in the same way I was, her shoulder touching mine.

"Well, I really appreciate the idea of an alliance with Zalia, Zexion." Emerald's eyes were looking at mine.

"Umm... You're welcome." I muttered, not knowing what else to say. She leaned over and placed her head against my shoulder.

"It'll be nice seeing her again. It's been a while. I just hope she hasn't changed."

"I'm sure she won't be much different." I spoke, not knowing if I was lying through my teeth or not. "She'd be wise to join this alliance. It'll be better chances for her."

"I'm her friend, I know her quite well, I know she'll join. Plus, seeing how strong you are, she won't refuse." This comment sent me into a tailspin. Here she is, leaning against my shoulder, and she is suggesting that Zalia will like me for how I look. What is she REALLY suggesting?

"I'm not that strong, in actuality." I reply.

"Physically, maybe... but I see a strong heart." I looked over at her as she finished, giving a confused look.

"Not that I don't appreciate the compliment, but... what are you suggesting?"

"I am suggesting what you are thinking, Zexion." She gives me a warm smile, gets up off the bed and skips to the door and exits.

"... But I don't know what to think now..." I mumble to the empty room.

I look to one of the windows displaying out into the hallway. I caught the glance of Alabaster and Meredith talking. Simultaneously they glanced my way and then grinned. Don't tell me they were watching what just happened here... If no one knew any better, they would think Emerald and I loved each other. Boy, are they seeing things wrong. I pressed a button at the head of the bed, which turned the lights low, and I slid under the blanket on the bed, and dozed off.


	6. The Deer and the Wolf

My eyes opened hazily to see Alabaster peering into my room, only showing his neck and head. I groaned and slid to a sitting position, hearing my joins crack in several placing, shaking off the dust of a stiff night.

"Zexion... You need to see this. Come on!" Alabaster slid the door open further.

"Are we in the Capitol yet?" I asked sleepily, not knowing if I slurred my words at all.

"No, but come on!"

"I'll be up in an hour or so..." I groaned and slid back under the blanket, back to him.

"Oh, no you don't. Get up and clean up. You need to see this." Alabaster approached the bed and pulled me up by my wrist and onto the floor. I laid there on the floor, looking up at the slightly orange-pink tube lights that lined the ceiling.

"Ughh... Fine. I'll be out in a few." I pulled myself to my feet. Within 2 minutes, I washed my face, drank 2 glasses of water from the bathroom tap and changed into loose black pants and a tighter blank long sleeved shirt provided by the capitol. As I slid the door open, Alabaster stood up from leaving against the wall

"What's the big rush anyway?" I asked, giving him an annoyed glare.

"The costumes are nearly complete. Yours is being finished and Emerald is trying hers on now as we speak. We worked all night, and I think they look very... attractive." Alabaster's words made me roll my eyes. Attractive, huh? Here we go with the misunderstanding of the century.

We walked into the last cart of the train. Meredith, as well as a few others were hunched over their laps with a needle and thread doing some fine detail stitching. I was still looking around at the pieces of what I only assumed was my costume being finished when my attention was quite forcibly stolen.

"What do you think, Zexion?" I turned to the voice, and couldn't look away. Emerald stood, with her costume. A dazzling outfit of a vibrant emerald green (honoring her name), gold and white, with traces of black. It was hard to recognize her at first, but at the same time, the costume played off of her best features. I blinked a multitude of times in a dumbstruck gaze. I started with the shoes. They seemed to be simple deerskin or cowhide, the typical tan color, I couldn't tell which from a distance. The center of the top of the foot was speckled with small beads, making some sort of cross or X shape, I could only assume was a symbol to the Natives. The leggings were of the same tan material, but along the seams were small 3 inch strands, or tassels of green colored hide. These tassels flowed and floated with her every movement. At the knees began the long torso piece, colored green solidly, dyed I would imagine. From the knees to waist, was a "skirt-like" piece, decorated with a diamond-like texture (Nearly identical to the smaller picture below). At the bottom rim of this piece was more colored tassels. The chest piece was a tight-fitting vest that covered the entire top of the shoulders, again colored the emerald green.. This piece was decorated with similar patterns as the skirt portion, with stripes of different shades of black,green and purple at the waist. Sitting upon the front side of the shoulders, was a disc about 4 or 5 inches in diameter. Upon this disc was a cross, each branch of the cross was a different color. This was symbolic to the Natives, I couldn't remember the exact significance. It was a nice touch though, gives the look of a small layer of armor. From the neck to below the arms were stripes of the same shades of black, green and purple that were on the waist. Across the forehead was a bead-woven headband. The pattern itself was dazzling, gave such movement to her flawless face. Crowning her head was the symbol of the deer, a rack of antlers, had to be no less than 6 points. Giving the biggest effect, was the two "wing like" fans upon the back. One fastened to the vest in between the shoulder blades and the second, and larger, one at the lower back. Her hair was tied back and placed underneath the vest portion, but they left 4 or 5 strands hanging over the headband crossing her forehead. Each strand was woven with beads and feathers. As she moved, the beads would clink together, making a chime-like melody. On her face was a vibrant green stripe across her face, spanning from the cheekbone to the headband, covering her eyes. The edges of this stripe were outlined with a thin white line. Overall, the entire costume fitted her perfectly. Even with so much fabric, she still seemed so... natural.

I looked her over from head to toe again in the few seconds she posed for my critique. Every line was exploited perfectly. The clothing fit just right to flatter everything about her; legs chest, arms, everything. The green really accented her eyes and slightly tanned skin. I don't know if my jaw was agape or something else. I could only admire.

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"Well, Zexion?" Emerald asked again.

"It's... incredible." I uttered, knowing I would regret looking for so long.

"Thank you!" Emerald smiled, blushing slightly. She approached me, as I was still staring, now looking at extreme details, and I can admit that I was looking at more than that as she approached.

"It fits you remarkably well." I managed to swallow my frozen state to say.

"I'm sure yours will fit you handsomely too." She placed a hand on my shoulder and raised herself up and inch or two on her toes and kissed my cheek lightly. This honestly made me jump. I was too distracted to see it coming. I jumped and looked at her with a look of startle and slight irritation. I was never going to live this down, was I? I looked at her for a moment as she then skipped away to look at herself in a mirror across the room. I closed my eyes in disbelief and shook my head ever so slightly, as if trying to erase the last few seconds. They aren't getting the message. I exhaled and calmed myself down just in time.

"There. I think yours is finished now as well, Zexion. The darker colors took longer to dye, so yours was a tad bit more of a wait." Meredith walked over to me, handing me a mountain of indigo and black hued clothing. I sat the pile down on a chair nearby. I'm looking at it wondering how the heck it all somehow fits on me. I glanced over at Emerald who was still admiring herself in the mirror. I began to pull everything on, starting with the pants. I removed the loose fitting black ones, not caring who was in the room. I did catch Emerald leaning to one side in the mirror, I could only assume to look at me without turning around. I didn't care, frankly. The pants fit well, and were lightly colored to counteract the dark top. Next, I slid off the black long sleeve. At this point Emerald turned around and walked across the room to sit beside Meredith. She wasn't making an attempt to hide her stare at me either. I was honestly excited to see myself in this. I would look like a decorated warrior, just like how my ancestors may have looked. I always dreamed the world would turn back time to those days, where everything was simple and we lived beside the Earth, not on it. I had the same amount of pieces as Emerald's outfit possessed. (My outfit are the exact same colors as the picture above, the blue and black one. Only difference is that the blue is more indigo colored and the green accent color is a bit darker, to accent Emerald's) Everything was slid on except for the presence of the wolf. Meredith first walked over to me with a palette paint, and began to paint a design on my face. From what I could feel it was an indigo stripe across the eyes, like Emerald's was. Then she switched to black to outline the black path. I thought it was the end, but she then switched to what I got a glimpse of was red. And began to paint a red zig-zag lines down each cheek from my eye to my jawbone. Then outlined the red with a thin black line. She stepped back and looked content with herself. I glanced at Emerald, and she was giving a sly grin of approval herself. I put on a plain, yet strong face, as if I was acting as a warrior in a movie.

"Very handsome..." Emerald commented, raising an eyebrow with a coy grin.

"Indeed. All that is missing in the touch of the wolf." Alabaster spoke, turning around to pick up a wolf head, the bottom jaw fixed to the top, but cut into. He placed it upon my head. The wolf's jaws sat upon my forehead, jutting out from the crown my head. The head and ears of the wolf stood pretty erect and the fur of the wolf's neck and shoulders was draped over the back of my head, neck and shoulders. I kept the same look and didn't break my strong glare at the empty armchair beside Meredith and Emerald. Alabaster stepped back and nodded in approval.

"Well, the Wolf and the Deer." Meredith pointed out.

"Now, Wolf, don't chase the Deer. I know the deer is good looking and all, but be careful..." Alabaster gave a wink an Emerald giggled girlishly. It was then I broke what I now began to call me "warrior look" as Alabaster looked at Emerald and nudged his head, hinting for her to go stand beside me.

"No, don't lose that face, Zexion." Alabaster got worked up. I put my look back on, as Emerald approached. I felt like I was walking into a trap at this moment, but I didn't drop or waver my look. I clenched my fists beside me, not of anger, but to make my warrior look more menacing. Emerald stood beside me, and placed her hands on my shoulder, leaning her head against my shoulder.

"Oh, what a picture!" Meredith rang out. I wanted to roll my eyes badly, but I kept up the strong face.

"So, Zexion. Do you like your costume?" Emerald asked innocently, looking up at me.

"Yeah, I do. Quite a lot... I feel... powerful, in it."

"Well, you look powerful too."

" I guess s-" Emerald placed one of her hands around my clenched fist, and I immediately saw what was coming. She turned to face me, face-to-face and leaned up to place her lips on mine. Yeah, my warrior look broke at that moment, shattered. I didn't pull away nor lean closer... I saw it coming, sure... but I didn't know how I felt to even make a move. I kept my eyes open, as she shut hers. It was only for a second, but it felt like an eternity, one that confused me inside. When she finally ended it, I looked at her with a face of slight liking. I know what happened, but I didn't know what REALLY happened. Her face seemed pleased as well... then I remembered Alabaster and Meredith. I glanced over at them, both of them were smiling ear to ear while trying to avoid eye contact. I can only imagine what the heck they thought, like I needed to wonder or imagine, I KNEW what they thought. This wasn't going the way I planned. Were they all against me, or was she alone trying to avoid me liking Zalia...What the fuck was happening here?

She stepped back, turned away and sat down beside Meredith, who leaned over and whispered something to Emerald, which made her blush. She looked cute at that moment, sure... I just don't know how I felt anymore... I know how my plans want things to go. I know I love Zalia at first sight and still do, but... Emerald is getting in the way...or changing things. Alabaster looked over at me for a second, then walked over and put his hand on my shoulder.

"Well?" he whispered.

"I'm get it now." I mumbled back, then stepped forward.

"Emerald, after dinner tonight, meet me in my room, alright?" I gave a smile and looked right in her eyes. She nodded and blushed so red, she looked like she was a themed Christmas decoration; red face, green clothing.

"Oh, what for?" She managed to ask through what I could only think was nervous giggling.

"You'll see." I replied, and gave a wink, then turned to face Alabaster. "Are you all set with us trying these on?"

"If you don't have any complaints, then yes." Alabaster walked over and began to take the fan wings on my back off.

"Good luck." Alabaster whispered.

"Thanks. I'll need it." I whispered back, only to get a chuckle from him and a proud smile that only made me feel he was in on this whole thing. I changed right there, I didn't care who saw, just as before. I slid on my loose black pants again, and I picked up the black long sleeve, and before sliding it over my head, turned to Emerald.

"Oh, and Emerald..." She looked up at me and I saw her eyes wandering around my body, not looking at my eyes. "Don't be late." I made the final comment.

"Alabaster, mind talking with me a while in my room. I need to ask you a few things." I asked with a slight smile while sliding the long sleeve over my head and pulling it down to my waist..

"Of course." he replied and followed me out.

Once in the hallway, and a good distance from the room, he asks,

"What is this about? What are you going to do for the remainder of the last day before we reach the Capitol?"

"I need to prepare for after dinner."


	7. Flirting with Disaster?

The day seemed to drag on. I skipped breakfast. Lunch arrived. I avoided seeing Emerald during it. Alabaster sat in my room with me for the few hours following the "dress rehearsal" for our costumes. My mind was running wild, and Alabaster had no clue about what I was thinking.

"So, seems like she finally bluntly showed you how to feel, huh?" he began, as he lowered himself into the armchair in my room.

"I guess so..." I sighed in reply.

"Why don't you sound glad about what just occurred?"

"Because... I don't know how to feel."

"What? We thought yo-"

"I thought so too..."

"Well, what is it then?"

"I'm not sure what I feel... everything is messed up now."

"Hmm...?" he hummed a reaction of surprise.

"Emerald... and... "

"Oh..."

"Yeah... NOW you get it... after trying to push us together, this only made me more confused than ever... and I DON'T need this confusion on top of trying to keep my sanity under control while looking into death's eye... Not that even if I chose either of them, I would be happy for very long anyway... One of us will die...or both..."

"Strive for happiness anyway. We all die in the end, yet we still try to achieve happiness."

"For such a short time, it's not even worth starting the journey, if I can't reap the benefits."

"Of course it is. If you die knowing happiness, you won't regret starting that path. Dying I the sunshine is better than dying in darkness." I remained silent for a minute.

"So, what are you going to do..."

"I am just going to let myself run free... whatever I feel tonight, I am going with... I am not going to fight myself... I just don't know what I want... or who I want... I'm just letting go."

"Who's the other one, if not Emerald?"

"Her friend."

"The one in District 1?"

"M-hm." I hummed in agreement.

"Ahh... So THAT is why you agreed to align with Emerald and her, to get close to Zalia by being good friends with Zalia."

"Yes, and it was brought way farther than I wanted... I'm not sure if THAT is even true anymore... Maybe I always wanted it to go that far... No clue anymore..."

"You'll need to make up your mind. If you want true happiness, you'll need to not cause anyone else distress..."

"... Yeah. Maybe if I just don't tell either of them how I feel about the other..."

"So, in other words, cheat on them with the other."

"NO. I mean... What am I saying? I'm not even sure if Zalia likes me... or will... but I know Emerald does... but I'm not sure if I like her... Rrghh... I am in it deep..." I sighed in frustration.

"So is how the tangled web of love is..."

"More like a twisted and turned love triangle..."

"... or that." Alabaster jested with a chuckle. I sighed. How could he find something to chuckle at when I was clearly a mess inside, but putting on a facade on the outside? "Whatever happens, don't lie or cheat... be honest with them... and most of all, yourself."

"I can't be honest with myself when I don't know WHAT to tell myself, because I don't know the answer for what I am asking myself."

"The answer will become clear, you just need to feel it out."

"Don't tell me you mean that literally..." I know this sounds odd, but knowing what Alabaster has said so far, speaking in riddles, I needed to know a hint.

"Well, if 'letting yourself loose' leads to that, then... I guess it wouldn't hurt..." I can't believe he thought I was serious with my question... I wanted to smack myself for even asking that.

"I'm scared..."

"About what?"

"Everything... The Games... after dinner... myself..."

"Fear isn't a weakness, it's a sign that you aren't numb or overconfident. It's something you need to keep you levelheaded."

"I guess..." I didn't know what to do anymore. I felt like I was approaching a seizure, just letting all control of myself go and let it do whatever the fuck it wanted. But what would become of me if I allowed such a thing? I wouldn't be content with myself. Alabaster is right, I need to release control, but keep enough to keep myself on track.

"I am going to let go tonight and find answers... not matter if I disagree with them or not to the question I am desperately trying to answer."

Alabaster left the room shortly after, as I requested. I needed sometime to silently prepare my mind, heart and soul for what was going to happen. Miraculously, I did calm myself into gaining confidence about tonight. It was the last private night I was going to have. Tomorrow, we would be in the Capitol. While we would have individual rooms, it's the first non-mixed company environment I would be in. I also don't need these nagging feelings tagging along with me during the entrance ceremony into the Capitol tomorrow. I would need to be beside Emerald, I need to feel confident I know how to feel about her in order to make an intimidating image. Being honest with myself is the most important thing I can be right now, even if that means my plans need to change.

Dinner came around. I felt like I was getting an answer from my mediation over the afternoon. It might be an early conclusion, but I can't fight the face that kept coming to mind when I tried to form the feeling in my chest into an image. It's still blurry, but I can make a guess. Tonight, things will go the way I feel I was following, or another path will come into view for me to follow.

I walked into the dining cart. Emerald was there, sitting beside Meredith and across from Alabaster, who was alone on his side of the table. I helped myself to a medium sized plate of food. It wasn't too much more extravagant than food in District 7, so I wasn't a glutton. It was rich food though, so I did eat enough to borerline feeling sick normally.. This time, I ate even less. I know tonight was either going to prove to myself my nerve is strong, or Ill make myself sick with thought. I didn't need to consider a stomach full of food being seen a second time. I sat down beside Alabaster, who was already half way done his plate of food. Luckily, the train seemed to get their cooks back after I cooked the meal the first day.

"Oh, hello, Zexion" Emerald greeted me in a happier tone than usual. She's as worked up about after dinner as I was. Except she was excited, I was nervous. I didn't know what was going to happen, although, she seems to have a good idea.

"Hello, Emerald." I smiled back. Great, I am already beginning to let emotion show, so much for keeping to myself until the final moment.

"You seem happier now than earlier. You were quiet this morning. Did you just need sometime to yourself to think? Hm?" Meredith commented, giving me a raised eyebrow. I didn't need her to be pushing me further. I looked over at Alabaster, with a look of slight annoyance, but hiding it effectively. Alabaster then reached across the table and grabbed Meredith's hand.

"Zexion was just tired this morning, he has a restless night. He took a nap and he feels better now. Right?"

"That's right. I had nightmares last night about the Games, so I didn't sleep much."

"Aw... well, maybe talking with someone before you go to sleep will help keep your mind at ease before you close your eyes."

"Perhaps it's a good idea." I gave a wink on my right side, unnoticeable to Alabaster and Meredith. Emerald immediately blushed and giggled, turning away from my gaze. I looked over at Alabaster and Meredith and shrugged, then turned my attention to eating. The rest of the meal was silent between Emerald and I, although Alabaster and Meredith seemed to be hitting it off just fine. I knew the reach for her hand wasn't just to help my lie. I looked over at him with a raised eyebrow at one point, and he returned it with a sly smile of his own. I shook my head with a smile and turned back to hoving over my last two mouthfuls of food. Emerald was ahead of me when I arrived, but she must have slowed down to keep pace with me, because when I was finished. I rose from the table, only to have her play copycat and follow me over to where we placed the dishes.

"Ready for me now?" Emerald skipped to my side.

"Give me like... 20 minutes, okay?" I winked and turned to head to my room.

"Oh... I see. Alright. See you then. I won't be late." She called as I walked away.

_What am I doing? _

I slid the door open to my room, and suddenly, I became warm...with nervousness. After nearly 15 minutes of trying to calm myself down, I needed to change my shirt. I did so, and laid down on my bed, hoping I would being to cool off. After a few minutes, I felt better. It was then I heard the door slide open. _Oh, great... Okay, keep it together._

"OH... Hell-lo, Zexion." Emerald became slightly startled upon seeing me. Not too startled, because she blushed a fire engine red in a second flat. Then she seemed to have a permanent smile on... and honestly, it was borderline creepy.

"Hello, Emerald." I smiled with a slightly raised eyebrow and a smile on one side of my face, giving a flirty face. _Why am I doing this?_

"So, what did you want to... 'talk' about." Emerald paused and changed her tone to one of slightly flirt back.

"Oh, well... I guess what you have been silently telling me for the past day and a half. Ever since you slapped me actually." I said smiling, placing my hand on the cheek she slapped.

"Oh..." Emerald raised her shoulders slightly in a look of embarrassment, and gave a wince-smile. "Sorry about that, by the way. I... kind of went off the deep end."

"Oh, really? I couldn't feel that side of my face for an hour." I sat up, throwing my legs over the edge of the bed, and sat my feet on the floor, giving a smile and a wink upon completion of my comment. This only made Emerald giggle and close her eyes doing so in a playful way. I placed my hands on my knees and hung my head between them, letting my fingers interlace behind my neck. I closed my eyes nervously.

After a moment, I heard Emerald's footsteps approach me. I felt the mattress move underneath me as she climbed onto it and sat behind me on her knees. Next thing I felt was arms wrapping around me chest from behind and interlocking just under my rib cage. Her fingers slightly floated over the skin for a minute. I could feel the warmth from her hand warming the skin beneath where it hovered. I could feel the soft, what felt like some sort of fleece, shirt press against the skin on my back. I tensed up at this. _What is happening? I want my skin to crawl, but..._

"Are you not feeling well, Zexion?"

"Sort of..."

"What's wrong?"

"I just... don't feel well... I feel... weird."

"Oh, anything I can do to help?"

_Why ask THAT? I can't even answer... I don't even KNOW anymore... My life has been turned upside down and reversed in these past few days... I..._

"I..."

"Hmm..?" She hummed in question, pressing against my back harder. I gave a wince, not of pain, but of just nerves and confusion, and slight panic. My senses picked up. It was as if I could feel ever fiber of the shirt she was wearing tickle my back, every breath she took, the warmth from the exhales, arms and hands. I raised my head, pointing my chin as high as I could, bracing my arms on my knees, closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"What's wrong, Zexion?" Emerald said seductively.

"I... I don't know..."

"Are you sure? You don't need to keep anything from me, you know."

_Stop fighting. You wanted to let loose, so just do it. Let what happen, happen._

"I..."

"What is it?" She questioned again, unlocking her hands and slowly allowing them to float upward along my chest. I tightened and twisted my neck and head the higher she traveled. It was as if my skin was being pulled to her hands. No matter how hard I tried to keep myself under control, my heart rate increased. It's like I had no control of how my muscles reacted anymore, only what I said.

"Are you sure you're okay?" She slid her hands out from under my arms and raised herself up on her knees, draped her arms over my shoulders, letting her chest rest against the back of my head, and allowed her hands to press against my chest.

She sat like that for a while, as I tried to calm a panic inside my head and chest from tearing me apart. As if I couldn't control myself, I let my hands cross and grabs hers that were plastered to my chest right below my rib cage. Her hands were soft, and I could feel her pulse was calm.

_How can she be so calm when I am falling apart here?_

"So, are you feeling better?"

"I... don't know..."

"Well, that doesn't help me, you know." She said, in a tone of annoyance and flirtatious. I leaned my head to the side, to rest against her upper arm draped over my shoulder.

"Are you tired?" she asked, lowering her head to whisper in my ear.

"No... not quite. I just..."

"... just?"

"I... just feel... warm." It was at this point she removed her arms from my hands, allowing mine to fall limp on my lap, and she slid her arms away, but kept her hands on my shoulders, and allowed them to dance over my skin. They traveled from my shoulders onto the sides of my neck, along the side of my head, past my ears across my temple and onto my forehead. Her hands were so soft, they didn't feel human, they felt cool though. Almost as if my skin was melting with every brush against my skin.

"You are hot." She muttered, pulling her hands away and moved herself to kneeling at the foot of the bed. She grabbed me by the shoulders, turned me to face her and pushed me back to lay down. I peeked my eyes open for a second to see that she shirt she was covered with when she entered has now slid down considerably, not quite revealing her chest beyond some cleavage yet.

_What am I doing?_

I closed my eyes and entered the trance-like panic state I was in for this whole thing. My head now rested on the pillows, and I managed to slide my feet up onto the mattress from hanging off the edge. My chest now felt hollow and my breathing was erotic. I had my mouth open slightly, breathing medium-deep breaths every few seconds, trying to maintain the control of myself that was slowly slipping away. _I must look like such a... _Before I could finish my thought, my major airway was blocked off. All I could feel now is something pushing and struggling, but it was slow to move. My trance-like state broke and panic picked up and burst. I opened my eyes to see hers closed only inches from my face. I lost all control at this point. I pushed back, letting all meticulous control of myself go. I closed my eyes and just leaned into it, slowly moving, countering her moves. _She tastes like...-What am I thinking?_ My thoughts meant nothing anymore, they didn't match what I was doing. All bets were off on what I was doing.

After a minute, I raised my arms and placed them on her neck and pulled her downward towards me. She grunted for a moment, and pushed my hands away with one of hers, while the other braced herself up. She slid one of her legs over my stomach and straddled me. She lowered her chest onto my own, placing one arm on my chest to brace herself and the other slid along the side of my face and into my hair, flexing the fingers periodically. I placed my forearms horizontally against the mattress, and lifted myself into her kiss, sticking my neck upward, making her raise herself up, not needing the arm to brace herself. Amongst her movement, she giggled, making me smile involuntarily, but didn't stop my motions either.

A few minutes passed, I managed to keep enough oxygen by breathing through my nose, not that I could bring myself to pull away. I was on auto-pilot at this point. My arms began to tire, so I picked up one arm and pushed her to one side, causing her to fall sideways, and pull away from me.

"Hey -" I hovered over her and leaned in for round 2. She positioned herself so she was where I was a moment ago as the kiss continued. She raised her hand up and pulled me down, she was copying my actions now... not that I could take credit for thinking of them, because I wasn't thinking. _What are you doing, Zexion?_ I used one arm to brace myself up, while I allowed the other so slide down to her waist, where her shirt had moved to expose her sides. I allowed my fingers to dance upon her skin here, immediately she giggled and grasped a fragment of my hair in her hands, that were deep into my hair. _Ticklish, seriously?- What am I DOING?_

A few more minutes or more passed, I think, it honestly left like an hour. She placed a hand on my chest and pushed me up. I pulled away and stretched my arms,which had begun to become sore and lose blood flow, while trying to catch my breath. She rose into a sitting position, and closed her eyes, as if she was tired. It was silent for a minute or two. _She finally had enough?_

A minute or two after I thought this, she grabbed my shoulders and pushed me sideways and straddled me again. _ …..Or not..._ She just loomed above me, no real expression on her face. She looked down at me, and I gave a look of confusion. _What is she thinki-_ As I tried to figure out what she was thinking, she reached up to her own shoulders and pushed the little bit of cloth holding the shirt above her shoulders down, showing bare shoulders. I think my eyes widened a bit, because she smiled at something... _Isn't she satisfied ye- Oh, god... _She leaned down to me again, all my control went out the window again, even of what I looked at. She shirt slid down slightly, since nothing held it to her shoulders, and a bit more cleavage was showing at this point, not more than half way, and of course I couldn't help but to look. _When am I going to answer myself? What the fuck am I doing right now? Am I getting myself in over my head?_ Round 3, and now I see the previous 2 were just tests or something... or some new animal was born in her glare earlier, because this was unlike the previous 2 bouts. I swear at one point we were close enough our front teeth touched. Everything was a blur for what happened in the past... who knows how long. I placed my hands on her shoulders and slowly moved them down her back. _How far did her shirt fall, anyway? Oh great.. Now my curiosity is piqued. Am I really enjoying this as much as I think ?_Her shirt slid at least two spread hand widths down her back, that would mean it was pretty much just resting there from the front, meaning what I was feeling on my chest wasn't clothing anymore.

I lost all track of time. Whatever time it was didn't cross my mind anymore. A swirling mess of doubt and fear and enjoyment just mixed and settled and seemed to not matter anymore. I felt like I was torn in two, with slightly less than half of me trying to pull away and the slight majority pushing forward. Her lips were soft, yet strong. She was warm and seductive. I had begun to simply let it all go, even though I was one who always wanted to be in control... I was getting used to letting it all go. I was getting TOO used to it. I was becoming so relaxed, I must have forgotten to breathe, because I felt myself going light headed. I pressed my hand against her neck and raised her off me, and gasped when her lips left mine, keeping my eyes closed to focus on getting my sight and balance back. As she raised herself into a sitting position, still straddling me, my hand that was outstretched wandered downward a bit, just from the angle she now sat at. I heard her emit a slight gasp, or some sort of reaction. Once I realized what just happened and what I was touching, I winced and knew keeping my eyes closed was best. I dropped my hand immediately and used it to prop me up on my elbows again.

"Are you okay?"

"Ye – yeah... I just got lightheaded... I got too relaxed I ..." _What ARE you saying?_

Emerald giggled at me and rose onto her feet and jumped off the bed. Once I gained my composure, and my breath, I peeked my eyes open, to see her standing with her head looking over her right shoulder, sliding her shirt sleeves back up. _Is she done? Is it over?_

"Thank you, Zexion." she sighed, seemingly satisfied.

"Uhh... You're ...welcome...?" I replied as she took a few steps towards the door then stopped.

"I... love you, Zexion."

Luckily she was facing away from me, because my eyes widened, and my panic came back._ I enjoyed that... thoroughly... but, did I just lock all options with Zalia before I even MET her?_ Before I had the chance to reply, she slid open the door and left.

"Uhhh..." I stared at the door for a minute, blinking to try and make sense of everything that just happened in the last … I looked over to the digital clock near the bed. It read 8:37. Dinner was at 6, ended at 7, bbout a half hour until she came into my room. I realized the time that everything just took to happen and I fell backward onto the pillows. _It WAS an hour!_ I rubbed my eyes and forehead. Sliding my hand over my face and pushing back my hair, exhaling disbelieving sighs.

_What are you getting yourself into, Zexion? What are your plans now?_


	8. Zalia: Friend, Foe or Flame?

I closed my eyes and drove my mind wild trying to get a grip on what just happened. I wanted Emerald to come back, but I knew doing so would just be asking for more confusion... _Perhaps I enjoy the confusion... maybe it isn't confusion after all. Maybe I do love her and what I feel for Zalia at first sight is the source of the confusion. ….but... I haven't met Zalia yet... Perhaps I'll feel the same for Zalia upon my meeting her as I do about Emerald right now. I'm not locking any doors, and closing myself to options. I didn't feel the attraction for Emerald as I did for Zalia at first sight, so between Zalia and I, there's already a spark, at least from me... I wonder if she feels anything about me, from no doubt seeing my face plastered on the television feeds from District 7's reaping. _Then I thought about how I must have looked, killing my pet eagle and nearly falling apart over it. All I could do was hope that Zalia was a pet lover and could see the part of me that is most attractive to her. _What if she DOES see an attractive side of you? What are you going to do? Who are you going to choose to "chase" like the wolf. – Why am I concerned about the future. Don't get ahead of yourself. Try to make an impression when you meet her. That's the first task. _If Emerald and Zalia were such good friends, and if Emerald loves me like she says, perhaps Emerald can talk me up to Zalia and imprint some sort of longing to at least get to know me, even a little. If an alliance is to be made, she'll need to get to know me. Emerald will need to try and convince her to form an alliance... and to hopefully form a spark between Zalia and I... Maybe I'll have the nerve to make things go farther with Zalia than what had occurred between Emerald and I. _Do you REALLY want to go farther? – Yes._

I drifted to sleep, reliving the "make-out" session, as I heard maybe friends of mine call such events. I had never had any luck with girls, so those scenes were non-existent with me. After wondering whether Emerald had just admired me from afar the whole time she had known me, even the little she did, in District 7, I fell asleep. Trying to conclude that I wanted Emerald to enter my room again. I felt something when with Emerald, that made me lose all control. I had never lost control like that before, even during my fits of rage or depression. I always maintained my head and could control my actions. With Emerald, I couldn't. It's like I would do anything, at any cost and without my own consent, for her.

"Zexion...Zexion...Wake up..." Someone was whispering in my ear. I groaned and turned over onto my side, back to whoever was speaking to me.

"Zexion... " the voice spoke, slightly annoyed, but still lighthearted. I didn't reply."

"Okay... I didn't want to... well... sort of, but..."

A second later, I was jolted from sleep by a hard pinch to my ass. I turned over onto my back; dazed. The shadow standing above me was one that I was glad to see, but then a flurry of confusion, or what I considered confusion, hit like a brick wall.

"It's time to get up, lazy. We need to get dressed to enter the Capitol."

"Ughh... What was that for?" I asked, rising into a sitting position and throwing my legs over the edge of the bed and placing them on the floor. It was then I realized that I had removed my pants to only allow me to sleep in boxers... _You are such a forgetful fool, Zexion. This isn't going to help her get the clue you aren't sure of what to think about her. You're making it WORSE for yourself. Use some damn caution, will you? Not that there was much left to be cautious of._

"Yeah, yeah... I'll be out in a bit.."

"Oh, Alabaster said you need to get into these tighter fitting clothing, so the costume fits over it easier.

_Was this a trick, for her to get me into tighter clothing. At this point, I suspected she was playing mind games._ I looked up at her from where my head was hanging and noticed she was wearing the same clothing she was now presenting me with, so I summarized it wasn't a trick and proceeded to slide the tighter clothing on. I gave Emerald a look to leave the room as I changed into a clean paint of underwear. With a disappointed gaze, she reluctantly left the room. _I have my hands full with her, don't I?_ I slid on the clothing, flexing and stretching to make it sit comfortably. It wasn't as tight as I originally expected. It wasn't some sort of silicon, so it wasn't too clingy. It was just a cloth with nano-fibers of elastic to be form fitting. I stepped out the door, leaving any belongings I had on my at the reaping, including the clothing I wore to it in the room. Emerald and I walked side by down the hallway in matching solid black jumpsuits. At one point, Emerald looked over to me and scanned me head to toe... I looked over and just did a quick look over, then I felt awkward doing so, since she caught my eyes and raised and eyebrow jokingly. I'm pretty sure I blushed slightly... but I don't know. I was mixed with what I thought was attraction and something I could only surmise as the need for solitude. I don't know which was pulling harder anymore.

We approached the exit of the train. Alabaster and Meredith were standing just near the door.

"They want you in costume as you exit the trains. It's different than past years." Alabaster pushed us into a small room across the hall from the door. I felt like I was in a tornado as Alabaster flew around me and threw on each piece of clothing in a flurry of perfect execution and flawless speed. In 5 minutes, or less, we were both dressed like Natives again. I still felt powerful wearing it. All the memories of the dress rehearsal consumed my mind, it spurred me into my warrior face that was indomitable.

"Step off the train together. Emerald, cling to Zexion's arm okay? Zexion, stern 'bad-ass' face, okay? Make an impression, at least until you make it inside to ride the chariots into the Capitol." Alabaster must have heard something, because he was pushing us together again, not that I was quite reluctant anymore. We approached the door, took our positions and the door opened, blinding me with light, but I didn't flinch. There was a moderately sized crowd standing around, lining the platform of the train. The expressions upon the faces I managed to glance at was complete shock. I heard such comments of "Beautiful throwback to the Olden People. Outstanding." and "Look at his face. I'm sure he'll be a favorite in the Games, even from District 7. They actually have good tributes this year." It's true, District 7 had an okay turnout in the Games, not many winners. That title belonged to District 1, 2 and 4. Always did. District 7 was in the middle in terms of time we have actually succeeded in the Games. All bets are off this year though, there's no clue what is going on now. Details have already been changed. Traditions re-made. The Games may be different now. We stepped onto a winding ramp-way that overlooked the outskirts of the Capitol, and onto a silver building that acted as a wall to the capitol. Before us were the tributes from District 6; Jason Preaves and Jennifer Seltten. We were embarking down this path in order of District number. I tuned out all voices as best I could from this moment on. I need to be a cold, hard killer, a hunter. The costume helped such a mood. Emerald clung to my arm as instructed, not that she wouldn't have even if asked anyway. I kept my fists clenched, as per my normal. She lowered a hand and wrapped it around my fist. She didn't attempt to pry my fingers loose, but it made me look like I had something to protect, and nothing was going to stop me. _Yeah, you do have something to protect, but it's not Emerald, is it? You are hunting for what you think is a more illustrious prize, and she's way ahead of you in District 1. _I glanced ahead and could see the first couple entering the silver building. The distance was too great, I couldn't make anything out of what she was wearing. Being from District 1, it could only be something luxurious. Maybe a slim fitting dress or skirt, encrusted with diamonds or something. From here, there was no telling. My chest caved in, or felt like it, knowing I am close to meeting her. I should have told Emerald that when waiting to begin the ride into the Capitol, to waste no time and find Zalia. We need to make a presence in her head before she begins to consider joining the pack like Districts 1, 2 and 4 normally get into in order to eliminate all the competition during the Games. We walked down the ramp that wove back and forth leading to the Capitol wall. Announcers were established to introduce us as we reached the ending of the ramp and onto a straight away. They announced our names, Emerald's name first. The Announcer seemed to be making a comment about each couple. The voice boomed out,

"District 7 tributes: Emerald Smythe and Zexion Cimmerian. Watch out for this one folks. District 7 sent its best warrior from the village and he plans to take no prisoners, except for the women it seems though."

I heard giggles, I glared up at the announcer, sending a flurry of daggers, who stammered with his own laugh I could tell he tried suppressing.

_Uhh... Easy tiger, it's only a joke. – I don't need a joke being made about me right now, I need to make an impression. Hopefully, Zalia doesn't hear what that announcer dared to say just now._

We made our way into the silver building. Spread about before us were a multitude of golden chariots, each strung with a horse decorated in the theme of the assigned district's industry. Emerald didn't remove her hold on my arm, even though we were out of the spotlight now.

"Let's find our chariot." I muttered. Emerald grasped my arm tighter and mumbled in agreement.

"After that, let's meet Zalia. You know what to do, right?" She smiled happily, as I scanned my eyes around the room.

I could see District 1's Chariot straight-off. It was pulled by a snow white pair of horses. The horses manes and tails were woven with bright golden ribbons and braided with strands of a sparkling material. The horses themselves were draped with a stunning golden cloth, encrusted with diamonds. _Okay... So I guessed what the horses were wearing right._ I still didn't see the tributes for District 1 standing beside them. I guess they were socializing with the other people flooding into the room, which included all the stylists and their teams, each finding and dolling up the tributes; touching up any slight imperfections that arose from the "ever-so-difficult" walk from the train to here. After following the numerically organized lines of horses, we found ours. The Golden chariot was customary for all the tributes, but the horses were altered to fit the District. District 7's had a medium-brown umber hued pair of horses. Inside the horses mane and tail were leaved branches of red berries; not holly berries, but possibly the poisonous ones that commonly grow inside the hardwood forests back home. The horse wasn't draped with any fine clothing or anything, but the reins and harness were speckled with finely carved wooded pieces, most of them were feathers or ornately formed figures of deer, wolves and eagles. The horses looked like decorated trees themselves. They looked better than many of the other similarly important Districts of Panem.

"They're beautiful" Emerald squealed next to me, tightening on my arm and looking up at me.

"Indeed, they a-" I began to agree, turning my attention to looking at District 1's chariot. It's that moment that I saw her. As I began to admire, I gulped nervously. _She's..._

"... stunning." I finished my thought out loud.

"Huh?" Emerald was still looking at me. "Oh, District 1..." she sounded disappointed in what I was looking at. Honestly, I didn't blame her. She knew what captured my eye, but it passed once she saw Zalia.

"Let's go meet Zalia! It's been so long!" Emerald tore herself from my arm, which left it feeling cold, and dashed off towards District 1's chariot. In a moment, she was gone in the crowd. I followed at my own aloof pace, keeping my stern warrior face slightly alleviated, glancing at the people beside me occasionally, giving a silent message of cockiness. After a minute or two of letting Emerald and Zalia catch-up, I approached them.

"OH, here he is! Zalia meet Zexion, the male tribute from District 7."

_Don't mess this up. SAY SOMETHING!_

"I have heard much about you, Zalia. It's nice to meet you." I couldn't help raising my eyebrow and giving a gentle, attempting-to-be-enchanting, smile.

"So... THIS is the 'take-no-prisoners-except-women warrior', huh?" Zalia spoke, aside from the hatred I felt for that announcer and the jab I felt, whether it was a joke or an intentional attempt to intimidate me, I didn't care what she said. Her voice was what was intoxicating.

_Say something, you dunce! And close your mouth. What are you posing for animal crackers!_

"Don't tell me you are intimidated from that?" I leaned my head down, almost pointing my eyebrows at her, and raised one higher in a pulse, and gave a look, not hiding what I was thinking.

"Oh, please... I'm not intimidated by you... yet." She began, then turned to Emerald. "So, this is the guy you were raving over?" Zalia spoke, jerking a finger in my direction.

"M-hm." Emerald smiled from ear to ear. Zalia turned to me, and I could feel her eyes looking me over. I tilted my head ever so slightly and gave the same sort of look back. Our eyes met for a second, and I didn't look away, not that I could. Her eyes were a brilliant shade of light green-gray. Her straight, warm brown hair was draped over her shoulders, slowly fading into her bright reflective, metallic gold outfit. It looked at if it was liquid outfit. The gold swirled and danced around her in a armor-like fashion. The edges of the "plates" of armor were outlines with lines of bright white pearls. She looked seductive, yet potent and intimidating, but I was up for that kind of challenge from her.

"Well, well... you aren't so bad. You don't lie Emerald, he looks strong... but can he prove it?"

_Don't act too abrasive, you fool._

"Well, if I am given the chance, I will." I raised my head proudly and stuck my chest out slightly. Zalia just looked at me for a long minute. Emerald kept switching her glance between both of our faces. I didn't let my eyes leave Zalia's. After a minute, she tilted her head, narrowed her eyes and walked up close to me, enough to let the very edge of the most forefront piece of her chest piece of armor to touch my chest. She placed a hand on my shoulder, and leaned on me to place her head over my right shoulder.

"Well, I think I better give this alliance a chance then. Keep it low, got it?"

_Of course, I'm not dumb_.

"As you wish." I replied as she retreated to a standing position, giving a coy smile and a slight eyebrow raise.

"Good." she nodded to me with the first smile she had given me since I met her, then turned to Emerald.

"Emerald, come find my room after dinner. We need to catch up on old times, okay?" Zalia gave Emerald with a wide smile and hugged her. "Or I'll come find you... you don't want me in hunter mode, you little deer."

"Ohhh... I already have an animal after me, Zalia. It doesn't scare me anymore." Emerald said, glancing at me real quick.

"Right... the wolf." Zalia said, glancing at me out of the corner of her eye, giving an intimidating smile, which didn't work in the way she wanted, it only made me more attracted.

"He's quite a beast, Zalia. Don't mess with him."

"That's quite enough, Emerald. We should return to the chariot." I began to turn away, glancing over my shoulder. "It was nice to finally meet you, Zalia. See you around." I began to walk away as Emerald gave one last hug to Zalia and dashed to my side, leaning against my arm.

"That went well." Emerald said.

"It did. Now is when it gets tricky."

_Yeah, but for the alliance or you?_

We approached our chariots and Alabaster did one last look over of me. Meredith did the same for Emerald.

"Remember, keep your warrior look on, and... Emerald shouldn't have a problem keeping you in arm. Balance her, okay?" Alabaster hinted with a wink.

_Whose side is he on?_

I stepped up onto the chariot, and offered my hand out to Emerald, who gladly took it and assumed her normal position of my sleeve as District 6 was before us waiting to launch.

"Good luck you two. Stick together. We'll see you at dinner." Alabaster called as we pulled away.

_Here we go. The Capitol began their real entertainment right now._

I could already feel the cameras glaring at us, and the faces behind them beginning to exchange money and bets. They always changed to and from my favor with each passing second, and each blurred color flying by me as the chariots flew down the street. Emerald continuously used me as a brace during the ride. One bump sent her pushing into me with some force. I spread my feet wide enough in such a case before the chariots began to move, so she was in good hands. From that moment onward, she gripped my arm tighter. Once the ride had come to an end, we pulled into a large golden building and onto a ramp descending below ground level of the entire Capitol. The chariots came to a stop, and I began to turn. Emerald loosened her grip on me as I stepped off the chariot, offering my hand for her to grab to disembark. I rose my arm and realized there were nail marks embedded in my upper arm and elbow. Emerald gave a "sorry smile" and we followed the crowd disappearing through a small doorway on the wall straight ahead.

We walked through the door, leading into a large room with tables. This was breakfast for us. A clock on the wall said 10:30. It's a little late for breakfast for me, but I filled my plate with food all the same.

"Mind sitting with Zalia?"

"Of course not, but we shouldn't attract too much attention to all 3 of use being seen together."

"Awwww..." Emerald sighed in discontent. I leaned over and whispered in her ear,

"If you want this alliance to not fall apart, we'll need to meet covertly, and pass messages in short bursts. Can't take chances."

_This is getting tough...I wanted to sit with her too... - Patience, Zexion. Wait and strike when it's hot._

Emerald and I sat down at the end of a table, completely across the room from Zalia.

"So..." Emerald said, raising an eyebrow at me.

"So, what?" I said, taking my first bite of some sort of potato dish.

"Zalia? What do you think?" Emerald said, resting her head on her hands, and looking at me, as if trying to get me to admit something.

"She's... cute and intimidating."

_What are you saying? This is the girl you fucking made out with for an hour last night!"_

"Oh, really?" Emerald seemed excited by this statement, which threw me into a tailspin.

"Umm... I said it so, yes." I said with a plain face, my eyebrows scrunched. "She looks quite tough. I like that."

"Oh, you do, do you?" Emerald said.

"Why do I need to repeat myself with every question you ask?"

"Sorry."She said smiling innocently."So, what do we do now?"

"For now, you meet her tonight and catch up. Try to get her caught up on my strengths and your strengths. You gather what hers are and tell me. We'll discuss strengths in closed company after the meal here, alright?" I begun, keeping my eyes shifting to over my shoulders, to make sure no one was overhearing any of this.

"Okay! Where will we talk after?"

_Why am I afraid to answer this question?_

"I guess in one of the rooms we are given to sleep in until the games, it's the place we can be sure no one is listening in."

"Oh, yay!" Emerald was ecstatic by this. While I liked the thought too, my confusion arose after meeting Zalia. Right now, my attraction for Zalia, is about how much Emerald's seems to be for me. _This seems to be closing in, and I don't have much room anymore... being in the middle sucks.  
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Emerald and I talked randomly for the remaining meal. Well, Emerald spoke more than me. I was busy observing each of the other tributes in 2 minute intervals.

District 1's female: Zalia White, of course. I had to move onto the male tribute, even though I didn't want to. District 1's male: Irvine Dusk, he still had a few bandages that I noticed when we watched his reaping on the television of the train. It looked like the limp subsided and most of the wounds were scarring or had healed. Other than that, he looked well built, but not strong nor weak. Average. Zalia and Irvine seemed to not know each other or get along, because they sat diagonally across from each other at the table, and didn't say a word.

District 2's female and the male... I didn't know their names. The female seemed to be pretty standard for District 2. Skinny, on the tall side, brown hair. The male of District 2 however, was the youngest of all the tributes, at 12, or was close to it. He was a short blond headed boy, with a major case of "loves-to-annoy". This kid didn't sit still and made comments all through breakfast about other tributes. I swear a fight was going to break out in which he would have his tongue removed, which I wanted to happen just to shut him up. Sentencing him to life life as an Avox would be a blessing upon the Games, lend alone the world. I'll watch out for this kid in the arena, for sure. I'd like the glory of ripping his tongue out.

District 3's female, I overheard was named Donna. I don't know a last name though. She seemed like a sweet older tribute, I would estimate about 17 or 18. Dirty blond hair, quite tall for a girl, looked like she was trying to become some sort of model, by the looks of it, or she naturally doesn't eat much. District 3's male, Zane Rion. I heard a bit about him. This guy was some competition. He was strong. He was tall, muscular and stern. I didn't see him smile at all since he began eating. He also went for seconds and thirds... and even fourths. This guy would need to be watched, and disposed of as soon as possible.

District 4's female, Mia Ward. A younger girl of the group. She has orange-brown hair, and was about 14 years old. She was shy and kept to herself. She looked as if she was going to cry all the time. She looked like she had some strength, hard to tell in such a young girl though. District 4's male, Jake. I don't know the last name, but this guy seems to be nothing but a flirt to me. We were going from table to table, sitting next to each female tribute in the room. He approached us, and I just glared at him, and mid-stride he stopped on a dime and turned away. He's a joke and will need to be watched. Especially since both of my alliance members are female. I did watch as he approached Zalia. She just grabbed him by his upper arm, twisted it so he was crying uncle and threatened to punch his nose in if he even dares speak to her again.

_Yeah... I'll need to be careful with her. I guess I should consider myself lucky and in her good graces. If she didn't do that to me upon meeting her, I have to be doing something right..._

District 5's female, Yumi Hiroki. She's a average looking girl, in terms of her physicality. She mood however, was clearly distracted, yet depressed. She couldn't keep her eyes off the male from her District. It looked like a scene right out of the 74th Hunger Games. "Star-Crossed Lovers" both chosen for the games and one, or both, are destined to die in a cruel hand of fate. The male of District 5 is Kensei Akura. He was taller than average, had dirty blond hair that was almost long enough to hang in his eyes. He looked down himself, actually. He was holding her hand on the table as they ate, stroking his thumb against hers from time to time. If they stay in that mood very long into the Games, they're own sorrow will kill them. I wonder if they are just faking to be THIS sad, just to keep off the radar.

District 6's female, Jennifer Seltten was an interesting one. She was peppy, yet sorrowful, stupid yet smart. She was all over the place. She was about 5' 4" and had light brown hair. She was not the skinniest, but nowhere near obese either. She just sat at the table, inhaling her food by herself. The male from District 6, Jason Preaves was distant from her. Jason has short hair; an inch or two longer than clean shaven. He was about 5' 8" and well built. Not terribly muscular, but seemed he was raised pretty well. He looked like he favored intelligence, from what I overheard, his vocabulary was pretty above average. They were both about 15 or 16 years old, from what I could guess. I don't know, nor can I say much more about them.

District 8's female is Tara Sprite. Her name suggests a rather feminine, dainty girl, and that's how she looks too. I peg her as the least fit for battle out of all the female Tributes. She looked anorexic and albino. Her health didn't seem to be of the best. Perhaps she was ill when she was forcefully thrown into this. I give her 30 seconds after the gong to survive, if she even makes it into the arena, she looks like she has glass bones and paper skin. District 8's male, Vince Clay, seemed a little rash and harsh, cockier than many of the other Tributes. Not to mention it seems he needs to have his ass kicked. Honestly, I hope I am the one to do it, I watched the kid for 5 minutes because I couldn't believe the lowlife this kid is. Vince strutted over towards Tara and placed his index finger along her shoulder and ran it down her arm, putting enough pressure to leave a cut. Tara must have had a medical condition with her blood clotting properly, because it was such a shallow cut, but it bled enough for her to need several napkins to keep it under control. Vince just walked away and sat down as if he felt no remorse and picked at the skin around his fingernails. When I saw this, I couldn't help but get up and do something. I approached the table when Tara and Vince were across from each other. Tara was busy keeping the wound covered. I walked over to Vince, who was younger in age, possibly 13, and lifted him up by his black over-jacket collar, lifting his feet a good foot and a half off the ground. This kid was shorter than most, except the twerp from District 2. The kid thrashed for a moment, failing every attempt to get free. The guards around the room seemed on edge, but nothing was happening, at least not yet.

"Not even in the arena, and you're already picking fights, with your own District no less. You heartless bitch?" I cussed him out.

"Yeah, you deserve to have your throat sliced from that little stunt!" I heard a voice from behind Vince in my view speak, not that I needed to. I recognized the voice. I moved him to the side slightly to see it was Zalia. I gave a half smile and used my free hand to use two fingers to beckon Zalia over beside me. With a look of revenge, she came over, smiling with a smile to make even the devil nervous. She stood beside me, winded up and deliver a punch to Vince's stomach. I watched his eyes bulge from his head for a moment, before they closed and he passed out. A guard walked up to us. I held the kid out to him and dropped him. He crumpled to the floor before the guard caught his head..

"He'll be fine. Just put him in a room. He'll wake up soon enough."

"Hopefully, that'll be a lesson to that bastard." I looked over at Zalia and gave an emotionless nod of approval, then turned to Tara, saw the bleeding wasn't subsiding. "Guard, take care of her too. Get her fixed and healed before we get into the arena. Everyone should get a fair chance." I turned and walked back to Emerald and sat down. Tara glanced at me, as a guard helped her form her seat as cheers started to arise. My expression didn't change, I kept my warrior face, miraculously.

"What was THAT about?"

"What?"

"You and her just put that kid's lights out! THAT'S WHAT!"

"I was watching what the kid was doing. Everyone in the room was thinking the same thing. You heard the cheering. I would do that again if I had the chance."

"Well, don't you think it blew our cover?"

"No. We didn't speak a word. I called her over silently, making it look like she was jumping on the bandwagon. I knew what I was doing."

"If you say so..." Emerald looked down to her food and continued eating.

I went back to watching the Tributes, slowly finishing my own meal.

District 9's female is Maximine Fable. She was 14 to 15 years old and had darker blond-brown hair. She wasn't terribly tall, but taller than the average girl in the Games. She seemed to be a bit of tom-boy and was a bit shy around the new people, but was very comfortable around the male from her District; Daren Burn. He was darker skinned, taller than Maximine by 4 inches or so. He was quiet. I noticed he watched me pretty intently when I walked over to Vince. From time to time, I see him looking my way as well. He seems to be fairly analytical, but keeps it to himself. He occasionally would speak to Maximine, but not a lot. He hasn't said a word to anyone else. He's one I'll need to watch, seems he is already watching me anyway. I know I'll encounter him in the arena. I can feel it.

District 10's female, Ima Dolt, was a short, bright blond headed girl with a big attitude. She was the "mean girl" of the Games. She didn't hurt anyone physically, but she spoke her mind and pulled no punches with her comments. She was just a brat that needed to be put in her place. She must have had some sort of insecurity problem that made her such a little bitch. She was hated just as much by her own District male; Ryo Sem. Ryo was dark haired, thin built and acted a bit immature for my liking. I over heard a conversation between him and District 4's Mia Ward, when she actually spoke. Ryo had some good thoughts, but at the same time he has some idiotic ones too. He's an interesting one.

District 11's female is Scout Martell. She's a somewhat quiet, yet kind one. Dark hair, slightly muscular build, yet not skinny. She has a delicate voice, and she seems incessantly nice. I don't know much else about her. She socialized well with anyone who talked to her, especially Irvine. The male of District 11 is Tristan Grant. He's not terribly skinny or muscular. In fact, he's the most out of shape male of these Games. He seems kind enough, not too bright looking, but he looked 14 or so.

And Lastly, District 12's female is Aliscia Phoenix. She's a red headed girl, who is quiet... terribly quiet. She seems like she is still in shock, even after a few days after the reapings. She kept to herself and sat on the far edge of the room. Nothing much else to say. She didn't bother anyone, and no one bothered her. The male from District 12 however, was the opposite; Van Michael. Van was the one who you don't mind having around, but at the same time, he speaks his opinion, and if you can't take someone not agreeing with you, it's better you keep away from this kid. Before Zalia punched Vince's lights out, Van and Vince argued over which music artist was good or not. They both didn't like the same artist in question, but they got on the topic of others and that's when the war began. I think they'll end up killing each other in the blood bath if they are placed anywhere near each other. I'd like to see that, actually.

_There, I have done all the profiling I can do for now. Without talking to everyone individually, I can't do much more._

"Are you done?" I spoke, looking around the room one last time to pick up any last minute observations.

"Yeah. Want to leave together?" Emerald spoke, letting slip her desperation for a yes.

"I guess..."

"Great." She rose from the table. I let her have a moment lead on me, then I rose and followed her to drop my plate off. She went left from there, I went right. Thinking we stay apart makes an alliance look unlikely. I rerouted myself once I got into the seclusion of the halls. I leaned against the wall to my room until Emerald stumbled across me.

"Your room is across from mine... Here..." I opened the door to my room, and allowed her in first. These rooms are where we will be staying until the Game begin. A week of skills training for a few hours everyday in the mornings. Then some other stuff that I didn't care for in the afternoon.

I followed her into my room and closed the door behind us.


	9. The Ambush

I knew closing the door was a mistake. I sat down on my bed and next thing I knew, Emerald took the solitude as invitation to do whatever she so desired. Apparently, that meant pushing me onto my back, straddling me as seemed to be her customary opening move now, and before I knew what I was looking at, stripped off her own shirt. Why this made me feel weird, outside of the speed in which it all happened, is anyone's guess. Perhaps her "openness" with me after such little time to know me, made me question a lot of things. I hadn't seen anything when she showed herself the first time. This time though, she wanted me to. Her face was one of flaunting. My eyes opened wide at realizing what I was just, quite literally, thrown into. But then my eyes loosened up and I gave her what she wanted, which was me to see what she was flaunting. So, I stared, not all to appease her, but in the end I felt good too. Even just a sight. The skin on her shoulders flowed and dipped down into the crevasses in between her collarbones and bones of the shoulder. Her skin at the top ridge of the shoulders was glowing with the reflection of the lights above us. The front of her was in slight shadow, but nothing was concealed. She looked threatening in the shadow, but... it had an effect. Her arms were dangling lifeless at her sides, the fingertips toying with the edges of my shirt. Her chest looked smooth and soft as the light wrapped around her neck and slightly made her chest glow. The light ran rampant on her breasts, making them the forefront of her image. _She's not bad at making them obvious, isn't she? – Are you complaining?_ They weren't easy to ignore, they were impossible to. They weren't from the realm of fantasy, but they were humble, in a sense. As much as my mind wanted to let go, I knew now wasn't the time. I don't know if there ever would be a time again..._ No. Not now. There's things that are much too impor- Oh, you know you don't want her to stop. – Yes, but... It's not rig- So what? What the Capitol is doing isn't right either. At least enjoy your last few days alive. - … But, I'm not sure if I am enjoying this as much as I could... I could hold out for – For Zalia? You could simply have both. Who is stopping you? Emerald already loves you, and if you chase Zalia enough, she will too... You could be quite the little Casanova. – But, I don't want to be that kind of person... I'm not going to allow it._

"Emerald," I reached up and placed my hand on her chest, above her breasts. "Enough... not now..." I gave a look of regret, because I was feeling it.

"Ohh... " She said and dismounted me, much to my relief. She backed down without much taunting. I gulped hard, trying to calm my own hormones, which were in a frenzy.

"Okay... so... Your strengths?" I started.

_You just experienced one strength of hers already, is there much left for her to add?_

"Well, I'm just an average girl who went to school in District 7. I'm nothing special." she sighed.

"There has to be something.

"... Ummm... Let me think." she muttered, sliding her shirt back on.

"I guess I'll tell you about my strengths then. Maybe it'll make you think of something. Let's see... I am stealthy at moving in the woods, after being a scout for the lumber company, I developed some stealth skills, as well as being decent at climbing trees. I could decently survive on my own in the woods, at least for a little while. I am pretty good with hand weapons, nothing too impressive, but I could hold my own. Ummm... "

"You're a good kisser..." Emerald mumbled.

"What?" I questioned quickly.

"Nothing."

_Does she have a one track mind, or is she still on?_

"... Right... Outside of that, nothing really comes to mind. Just be honest with her about me... All you need to do now is tell me about her, and tell her about me. I'll plan out the rest. Outside of that... I have nothing else to say. Unless you thought of a strength of yours, I'm done."

"Okay, I can do that." She seemed cheered up a bit.

"Why not go try to find her room now. I need to begin thinking of where to start."

"Okay!" She skipped from the room.

_For just being denied, she took that rather well. – Looks like it, but I wonder how honest she is going to be with her. Don't you think she just thinks I denied her because Zalia is now in play? – It's possible, she could. Although, if she does and Zalia then rejects the alliance right away, you'll know Emerald is to blame for not passing your skills off as more than satisfactory. – I suppose..._

_For now, all I can do is wait, and hope that I can meet her alone sometime._

I closed my eyes and laid out on my bed, hands behind my head in a relaxed position. My mind was processing each Tribute, categorizing them into "Threats" and "Non-threats". There was a group beginning to form of "Unknown" as well. I felt like I was playing a mental chess game, remembering who does what and what isn't going to help or hurt. Most of the Males from the Districts were in "Threats", minus the annoying few and the injured. The injured where in "Unknown", in fear of underestimating them. The young and the few I saw as honestly weak were in "Non-threats". I then considered how the Tributes saw me. There was Daren, who I couldn't forget was staring at me in the dining room earlier. Was it of jealousy or just observing? I thought about everything else that happened. Tara is surely on my side, from standing up for her against Vince. If need be, she could be of some use, if she can stay in one piece. The cheering rose to mind. I don't know if Zalia and I earned any "kudos points" for punching Vince's lights out, but it certainly showed Zalia as being strong and certainly no pushover. I don't exactly know if that makes my job harder, or doesn't change it. People may leave her alone, in fear of having an ear ripped off or something. The rest of the Tributes know I don't let any shit go unnoticed, and I act on it. That may spark some intimidation, but, I'm not sure. Right now, I don't think anyone suspects an alliance, but I am weary still. There's the quiet few that could be masterminds in disguise. My mind kept bringing up tracks of thought, then shrinking them away when another issue came to mind.

After 2 hours, I had concluded that we weren't in a terrible place. Over the next few days of training, I'll re-organize my threat lists several hundred times every day. There was the call for lunch at 2:15, I didn't want anything, since breakfast was later. I made my way to the dinner hall, to see Emerald sitting with Zalia. I suppose two girls weren't much of a threat together, so I let her action slip unnoticed. I grabbed a small plate of food and sat down a table away from Zalia and Emerald, back to them. I was trying to hear what they were talking about, but they were speaking low. _I wonder if Emerald went ahead and talked to her before the after dinner arrangement. She'd be hitting the ground running then. – Sounds like they are gossiping. Girls are girls after all. Although, there's only so many people left to gock at and comment on. I doubt it's about the Games._

I sat by, raising my arms to stretch every so often. When I was done, I returned the plate and left the room. I returned to my room. I didn't pay any attention to any of the Tributes at lunch. I wasn't going to give the same glances around the room that I had at breakfast, that is just obvious. To keep myself from going stir crazy, and over thinking any of the tributes, I slid onto the floor, wedged my feet beneath the edge of the bed, and did 5 repetitions of 15 sit-ups each. I broke a slight sweat in the middle of the 4th repetition. After that, I flipped onto my stomach and did 4 repetitions of 10 pushups each. Wasn't much of a work out; I was pretty strong in my arms. I got to my feet and rotated each arm about 5 times in both directions and did a few other exercises. I didn't push myself on anything. Sore muscles are something I don't want. After the workout, I fell onto the bed, and just closed my eyes and rested. I hovered on the edge of sleep for a while, a few hours actually. I heard some knocks on my door, but I didn't reply.

I did hear the call for dinner. I woke up a half hour before the call came, and began to become paranoid on what Emerald was doing now. I hope everything was still fine concerning the alliance. If anything, I wanted it stronger. I wanted Zalia lured in so much that she can never tear away, and she'd be mine until we died.

I rose to my feet and yawned, then stumbled to the dinning room. This time Emerald was by herself, Zalia wasn't in the dining room at all. I grabbed my food and sat at the table across from her.

"So, how's things?"

"She's good. Want to talk later? My room this time?"

_Oh boy... I thought going to my room was bad... I'll be ambushed walking through the door._

"That can be arranged." I whispered.

"Awesome." she whispered, concealing some evident happiness. Although, it was out of place, and not normal. It was too much like she had something dastardly in mind, not of jittery happiness like normal.

_She's up to something. You don't think – It wouldn't surprise me if she was still on from after breakfast..._

"Okay. Anyway, notice anything about the other Tributes?"

"Haven't been paying much attention. Although, Zalia did punch out that little kid from District 2... Pat Hetic was his name; said the girl from District 2. She seemed glad to see him gone. Zalia is earling quite the reputation."

"Of which she needs to stop... Girl from District 2? What is her name?" Emerld took a deep breath and sat straight up and rambled,

"Rosilia Elena Alexandra Franchesca Sarah-Ann Deloria Annabelle Delemonto..." Emerald stopped and inhaled. "The third."

"Are you joking?" I gave a look of surprise, yet one of disbelief.

"Nope. But call her Rose for short."

"That should have been easier without nearly passing out."

"That's what she said."

_What the? Did she really?- I think so... _

I gave Emerald a raised eyebrow.

"... Zalia... I mean, that is what Zalia said." she smiled in embarassment. I rolled my eyes, giving a slight smile. We spoke a little, trying to keep quiet though. Dinner passed.

"I'll meet you in 15?" I whispered.

"Sure. Sounds fine. Knock 5 times rapidly when you get to the door." Emerald spoke.

"Oh, aren't we the security guard now. Sure." I joked them walked away.

I returned to my room and took a quick shower in the bathroom there and slid on a new change of clothes and underwear. A black pair of loose fitting pants, and a tighter dark red short sleeve. I the peeked out my door, saw the empty hallways at least 100 feet in either direction. I crossed the hall and knocked 5 times rapidly.

"Come in." I heard Emerald I turned the handle, hearing the click. Emerald was sitting in an armchair on the other side of the room, fully clothed, luckily for me. I walked to the center of the room and stood at the foot of the bed.

"Hey, Zex." I heard a voice from behind me. Fear paralyzed me for a second. I stared at Emerald, but focused on what was behind me. Emerald rose to her feet and walked towards me, coming within 3 feet of my front.

I heard the door close, and a click of a lock. I swallowed nervously, trying to hide it. I glanced over my shoulder to see it was Zalia... giving a small, coy smile. After shutting the door, Zalia kept her eyes on mine, and walked towards me slowly and stopped about as far from me as Emerald was. I turned to face Zalia.

"What's go-"

Zalia winked, and I felt two hands grasp my waist and Zalia's reach for my shoulders.

_What did I just walk into?_


	10. The Tale of the Trapped

Both of them were in such a blur. I lost all balance and was pushed onto the bed, and pinned down... _This isn't in my plans – Oh shut the fuck up with your plans. I was right, wasn't I? You CAN have both. It doesn't look like they care to share you. - I... God, how did I get myself into this? - Quit complaining, you have to do nothing now. Just enjoy yourself. _I couldn't fight the logic. I was attracted to both of these girls, and... having both, to be honest, made me feel like a king. I'm not trying to be egotistical, but...

Zalia was now the one straddling my stomach. _What the heck was I, a horse? - Don't complain... Don't complain! _She pressed my shoulders down. My expression, I could feel, was of complete and utter shock. They couldn't blame me; I WAS ambushed at the door. I guess I was the first ambushee to be more content during and after the ambush than prior to it, while still remaining the victim.

"What's wrong, Zex?" Zalia grinned despicably down at me.

"Uhh..."

"Confused? You should be," Zalia began, then she leaned over towards my ear and whispered,"... well, sort of. You won't regret this, neither will we. Just sit back and hang on tight, warrior." It was then I got the first taste of her, literally. I thought Emerald was good, but Zalia... my lips went numb on contact. I didn't even need to try and convince myself to just let go. She pulled all control away from me with a touch. _I ... I ... - Oh, stop trying. Listen to her and fucking enjoy this. It might possibly be the last time you get ANYTHING, so take it._ I managed to reach up, causing Zalia's hands pressed against my shoulders to slip off and onto the mattress. I reached up and pulled her down onto me, hard. _I'm... in control...? - It's about time you finally have the guts to control yourself during these moments. I was tired of convincing you every time. _

I moved my hands from her back, at which point I pulled her down, then onto her neck and head. I placed my hands on either side of her head and just did what came naturally to me. For a second, I forgot Emerald was in the room, until I felt another pair of hands crawling up my legs, starting from my ankles. I could feel the soft touch even through the pants I still surprisingly had on. My skin crawled from the touch. It was getting difficult to keep my attention split between Zalia and Emerald's distracting touches. It became harder to focus on either of them when Emerald's touch approached my hips. _She's not... is she? Not here. Not now. - I doubt that. You saw how all over you she gets. I don't think she cares to..._ I felt her fingers slide up to my waist and begin to grasp my pants. I tried to rise and stop her, but Zalia just moved her hands back onto my shoulders to pin my down. She was stronger than she looked. _I'm trapped. They planned this... and I walked right into it. - Don't deny it. You know you don't want to. -... That's true... I think... _I felt Emerald's fingers slide into the top edge of my pants and begin to try and remove them. My weight and Zalia's upon the bed was preventing her from moving them more than a few inches. _Allow her to, you fool! _ I used my strength to arch my back, lifting Zalia slightly, placing force upon my ankles, lifting my middle up just a few inches. Emerald took the invitation and slid them down to around my knees. I lowered myself back down and just let what happen, happen. Zalia and I still were working on our mouths when I felt Emerald begin to go to work too. She worked me out and began simple. _She is... Rgh... really drawing this out. - How long __did it take them to come up with this. They got you good here, don't they? - Shut up... _I was going crazy... That's all I can say...My arms were pinned at my sides, fingers twitching occasionally, mostly from Emerald's touch. Even my face winced every so often from reaction. It wasn't of pain, but of pleasure. Zalia's tongue made me numb while Emerald's constant stroking kept me sensitive. Every fiber of my being was being confused by the cross of signals. It felt exhilarating. Zalia then removed her hands from my shoulders, and moved her hands to my stomach, and pulled up my shirt. During the moment of freedom, I could have escaped, but... I knew I didn't want to. The shirt slid over my head without a struggle.

"Z – Zalia..." I uttered as a wave of pleasure made my muscles twitch. She looked at me and I looked at Emerald, who was leaning over my waste beside me. She looked back at me with a raised eyebrow, but with some sort of 'turned on' smirk.

"Oh... I see. You want ME to?" I just looked up at her until a wince broke my eye contact, causing me to flinch and shut my eyes tightly for a second. I swallowed as Zalia touched Emerald's shoulder, which immediately stopped her motions.

"Switch, with me, would you, Emerald?" Zalia gave a sweet smile as Emerald gave one of disappointment, before glancing at me. I gave her a half smile and she immediately turned.

"I'd be happy too." Emerald winked and Zalia and she returned to where Zalia was a moment ago. Emerald's kiss wasn't as thrilling, but honestly, I didn't feel Emeralds lips on mine. What my senses focused on was Zalia's actions. Emerald did the same pinning action, to assure her I don't end it early like I did earlier. _She must have told Zalia that I cut it short this morning by reaching up to her. She is preventing me from doing so now. Even if I wanted to end it, I can't. - But you DON'T want to, so it's not an issue._ Emerald's kiss was just as sweet as normal. It was difficult to focus on her kiss with Zalia. Emerald was okay, but Zalia... I don't know if it's my heart telling me something, that Zalia is better for me or what, but... I'd choose Zalia over Emerald. Just something about Zalia... But Emerald has some quality I can't explain... and I wouldn't want to give up. Zalia resumed where Emerald left off. It felt like poison, her touch...

"Ah, there we are." I heard Zalia mumble.

"Hm?" Emerald mummbled through our kiss.

"He's alright." I saw Zalia wink out of the corner of my eye. All my muscles near Zalia's area were taught.

My fingers twitched with each of Zalia's strokes. I could feel the heat generated by the friction. My breathing was picking up. The sensations clashed and made me feel like I was falling apart, but growing stronger. How could just their touch be causing me to go insane like this? Both of them... were driving me out of my mind. _You were right. I might not get this again, so I won't complain. - You haven't been. You've been fine. You are sealing the deal of the alliance right now._ Emerald reared back after a minute or two of work and removed her shirt. I have very little on, but I wasn't cold. I became warm when Emerald leaned on my chest to continue the lip-lock.

I had no idea how long this had gone on, nor did I care. I then heard a chuckling. Emerald giggled and like a switch, I felt it. Certain spots turned hot as molten steel mostly near the tip at first, slowly my entire member turned burning. Through Emerald's twisting kiss, I moaned involuntarily.

"Oh... First noise you've made. I thought you were dead for a while there." Zalia mocked me. "Self-restraint." Emerald pulled away for a second and looked over to Zalia.

"Don't be cruel, Zalia." As Emerald spoke, I took the chance to catch my breath. I was only breathing midly, increased slightly from normal. I tried to loosen up, but nothing was listening to me. It was all in their control... my entire being... My entire fate at this point. I could die here if they wished it. As Emerald's head was turned, I could see Zalia heading for another go. I felt it again and my fingers and toes immediately tensed up. Then it stopped.

"Do you feel good, Zex?" Zalia asked, in a teasing manner, as Emerald returned to kissing me. I clenched my fist at my side, which I knew she saw.

"Good, because it's only the beginning..." Zalia threatened with a despicable tone, turning to burn me again. This time, she laid on her side, her feet extending towards me.

_Are they crazy? - They are girls... OF FUCKING COURSE THEY ARE CRAZY! I swear, sometimes you are so pathetic, it's sad._

As if liking to see me squirm, while being burned, her tongue ran along me as well. My body was shaking slightly, but it wasn't of fear, just reaction. I coped with the burn and eventually it became severely enjoyable.

I just let myself drift... I felt too good right now to care. I felt too warm and comfortable, despite having two girls holding me down. I was the victim, but I felt like the victor at the same instant. I don't know what I did to make them want to ambush me like this, but I didn't care. I would do it all again in a heartbeat, including what I had in mind right now. They might have had control right now, but now I was going to make my own move.

Her hips weren't far from my right hand. I stretched my arm to reach for her legs. At first, I just placed my hand on her upper thigh. In between wrestling with Emerald's head, I noticed that Zalia was looking at me out of the corner of her eye, as her head rose up and down. She pulled back and slid her pants down, shimmying her hips at the same instant. I'm pretty sure Emerald had no idea what I was about to do, considering she much have been sleep-kissing or something because it was getting repetitive. I kept her going, just to keep her involved. Once Zalia resumed her work at my hips, I forced my hand in between her hips. With this, I took control, at least of part of this situation. She hadn't done me the honor of removing her underwear, but I didn't necessarily care. I got a reaction with simply stroking her there. I wanted to repeat the words she said to me only a moment ago about stimulating some pleasure down there, but Emerald had my mouth quite full at the moment.

After a minute or two of coaxing, I must have convinced her to turn her hips my way, because the area opened up. Using my index and middle fingers, I fingered her tender spot, and after a moment received a groan in reply. This made me smile and feel like I had finally intimidated her for once, even if this was the wrong theory, it made me confident, so I didn't exactly care. I danced my fingers up to above the top band of her underwear and began to wrangle my hand inside, as best I could. The angle at which I attempted this made it a fight in it of itself. Not to mention Emerald's sucking on my face was causing a lot of movement, I had no real image of what I was doing anymore. I was going mostly by the feel of it all now. My fingers became warm and with each movement and flex I gave, the more tensed Zalia became. Once her actions and groans drove me to the near climax, I teased my index fingertip at her opening. She gasped at one point and backed away from my hips. I guess it was a good thing too, nothing would remain of what happened here when all is said and done. I don't know what the Capitol would do or say if they knew what was going on between the three of us. What were they going to do, sentence us to death? It's too late for that. Still though, we don't need to make ourselves targets. So, I can have fun, just need to be cautious and make sure nothing is left behind.

I was on fire, I felt so warm, yet exhausted... I kept at Zalia, slowly driving her mad it seemed. She had backed away from my hips and was just stroking at this point. I pulled my left hand up and grasped at Emerald's right breast. I could feel her lips pull into a smile and sigh slightly. _Okay, now I am taking control of their ambush. - It's about fucking time. You could have done so with Emerald too many times before yet you let them pass you by. You finally figure it out when there's so much gold to roll in. Took you long enough._ I grasped and felt Emerald as I simply fingered Zalia... I could only imagine looking down on myself and seeing how graced I must have been. If this is what heaven would be like, I wasn't too reluctant to die, as long as these two were coming with me.

I was slowly getting my devilish side to take them. I was being diabolical, making plans in my mind of where to go next, and who should be the target. My mind ran rampant with plans that would do nothing short of satisfy them.

My next plan; bring Zalia to her knees. I stretched as most I could and went as deep as my fingers would allow. Methodically searching for the weak spot took some time. I had made her react in the same way she made me react while she put he plan into action. The tables had now turned and I was in control of them both. I know I shouldn't feel like a king, but that is what I did feel like. A lucky king who satisfies. I stroke more luck when I repeatedly hit one particular location with my index finger and got a noise from each time. Now I knew and I would not let her forget that I knew. I began to work. I was making her go mad. She didn't move much now. Her eyes closed with pleasure. I felt evil, but strong. With Emerald, my left hand just bobbed and weaved while my lips still pulled at hers; our tongues wrestling occasionally. _Well,, I'm proud that you are taking control this quickly. You took forever to catch on, but you work quickly.- You were right. I need to enjoy th-_

-Knock-

"Oh, shit." Zalia managed to sigh, since I had froze upon the sound.

"Hello? Anyone in there? It's curfew, you must all return to your respective rooms." what appeared to be a guard in the hallway. I was disappointed. _I had just..._

I pulled away from Emerald's lips.

"Get it together girls," I looked up at Emerald, who got the hint and dismounted. "This can't get out, understand. It means an alliance... and more than that. It'll make us targets for exploitation."

"Fine... " Emerald sighed. Zalia remained quiet. I placed my feet on the ground. Everything felt cold now. _That almost went too far. - YOU were the one bringing it there. Don't think you aren't at fault. - I know I did... and I would do it again too... _I slid my pants back on. They seemed no worse for wear. My shirt had been thrown onto the headboard. I too grabbed that and slid it back on. Besides my obvious signs of exhaustion, I looked fine. So didnt both girls.

"Zalia, you first. Emerald, if you need me during the night, just come in." I requested. Zalia didn't say a word and walked to the door and opened it, meeting the glance of the guard. I followed, giving the guard a glare of daggers. I meant it, he ruined everything that was happening in there.

I got back to my room and decided to just go to bed. I was cold compared to how I was the past few hours, I think. I placed my head on the pillow and fell asleep in complete darkness. I felt accomplished, and hopefully, I made an impression.


	11. A Midnight Rendez Vous

In the midst of sleep, I dreamed of the night's activities. I cursed that guard's every being for causing it all to come to an end. I felt completely weird for leaving it the way it had, not that is was my fault, but still. Everything was just as real as it was then. Even in dreaming, I got the same effect in reality, because I felt warm all over again when I stirred from sleep, still quite groggy. The only difference was I was laying on my side, facing away from the door. There was very minimal light entering the room, filtered by the blinds that I was facing, dimming the lights from the Capitol.

I woke up breathing slightly heavier, and was sweating slightly. Waking up in such a way was a disappointment. Enjoying the dream, then waking to find it wasn't real, it's gets quite depressing. Of course, I was on again, and I was alone. Thoughts of last night kept me from going insane, but it still wasn't the same. The warmth, the muscle tension at least being somewhat relieved by Zalia and Emerald. No one was here to help that this time...

I woke up, pulled into a sitting position, leaning over my lap, and rubbing my face with my hands. I closed my eyes, trying to calm my breath and turn myself off... that wasn't doing much good. I fell backward and laid on my back for a while, lightly closing my eyes, just straining my hormones to stop flowing.

It was then I heard a light, quiet knock. _Oh, right... I did tell Emerald that if she needed me, she could come into my room. I left the door unlocked for that reason._

"Hmm?" I hummed, trying not to speak too loud. The door creaked open, the light from the hall filling the little entryway, that was concealed by the walls of the bathroom that jutted into the bedroom portion. The light flew away as the door clicked shut... and locked.

I didn't say a word as she walked across the room and stood at my bedside. I pulled the covers away, revealing a place next to me for her to climb in. I suppose she was on as well, and wished for relief. The feeling was mutual at this point, I was glad she came in. I turned onto my side, as she laid down beside me, facing away from me. I pulled myself close to her, wrapping my arm up and over her side.

"You're still on too, Zex?" I heard her question sadly.

My heart skipped a beat. She came to my room? _I..._

"Z-Zalia?"

"Yeah, I know it's dark. I couldn't sleep. The dreams you know... become living nightmares. It's just... some relief."

"M-hm." I agreed. "I'm just glad I'm not alone now." Instinctively, I reached my hand up to grasp her left breast moving it gently, as if telling her I'd help. To further express the point, I pulled her close as we laid there, and let my lips dance on her shoulder, then moving to her neck. Sighing every few seconds with my movements, I slowly moved up to her ear, continuing to handle her breast softly allowing my hand to rise and fall holding it. I let the very tip of my tongue stroke the top arch of her ear, before gently pinching it with my teeth. She reared her head back, and moaned softly, twisting her head slightly. I moved back down to her neck, kissing it and every so often, allowed my tongue to tease the skin and just graze it.

After a moment, when it was too much for her, Zalia leaned against me, on purpose to roll me onto my back. I turned over and let my hand slide away from her chest, and just let it sit at my side. Zalia disappeared under the covers and began to fumble with my pants. In complete darkness, then under the covers, I'm surprised she could find the waist of the pants. Doing her a favor, I reached down and slid the pants away myself, throwing the blankets to the end of the bed.

"Resume where we left off?"

"We're short someone, but... It'll be just as good., right?"

"Right, Zex." she spoke, relieved to a degree. She laid the same way she was earlier on in the night, her legs leading towards me. This time though, Emerald's distraction and causing immobility didn't restrict me. I had free reign, as did she, a silent mutual agreement. _This... is better than I have planned... Never had I expected – Your plans sometimes need to be thrown out the window. Would you stop making plans so much NOW?_

She pulled me out and with the same intoxicating touch she used earlier in the night, she went to work. Immediately, my muscles tensed. Each stroke... made different muscles of my body spasm and become uncontrollable. I closed my eyes and winced every so often. _How is it that she seems be better now than before.- Holding back before? _Not wanting to falter on my end of the deal, I reached my right hand down to her hips, and cut to the chase and slid my hand inside her underwear, causing as sigh of pleasure. I smiled slightly through the flurries of warmth that radiated from her touch. I slid my index and middle inside her and flexed, searching for the spot yet again, with a more refined area in mind, because this time I at least knew the relative location. It seemed we were both better this time, because the groans she let out now were enough to make anyone turn on upon hearing them, lend alone being granted her touch. My breathing increased to a point not reached earlier in the night. I felt hers do the same. I began to flex my fingers slower, slide further out with each flex, then returning to the area I suspected was her spot. My fingers were warm beyond belief, so relaxed, yet still so much control. As if not knowing what to do with herself, outside of moaning, she slid me inside her mouth and immediately my chest tightened. My left hand was grasping the sheets tightly. With each motion Zalia made, I flexed my fingers in unison.

"Z-Zalia.." I moaned. She stopped and looked over at me, from what I could see through the darkness, which made this whole scenario very ominous. I was breathing slightly heavily, each breath making me feel slowly more exhausted. My hand was just sitting in between hers, still flexing slowly. As she looked at me, I sped up, making her groan in quick bursts. I could hear her breathing through the darkness, hers was elevated too. I pulled my fingers free and grasped her left ankle, which was by my shoulder, and pulled it towards my head. She let out a slight noise of recognition. I released her ankle as she removed her clothing and straddled me, facing away from me this time. She leaned over me and continued to work. My hands grabbed her knees, which were perched on either side of my rib cage, and slid them back, forcing her to lay on me. I moved each leg to one side of my head. I could feel the heat radiating off this location her. I placed my tongue on her lips down here, and began to move, and immediately I heard her moan through her full mouth. I continued searching around, feeling my tongue grow warmer with each second. The taste even of this area wasn't something to deny. Something began to flow down the corners of my mouth and onto my chin. After a long moment of this arrangement, I felt everything tighten where Zalia was working, I strained myself to suppress it.

"Z-Zalia!" I spoke slightly louder, and through a wince, as I continued to lick.

"I – I know... I... am too." Zalia sighed through mouthfuls. Suddenly, she stopped moving.

"I can't... take it... anymore!" Zalia jerked away from me and turned around. I could feel and see I was quite raised, from the little light incoming into the room. Zalia stood above me, but then crouched down over me. Her hand gently grasped me and perched it at her opening. She looked down towards me, and from what I could tell, was giving a coy smile. A second later, I could feel incredible heat consume me. It was soothing, but at the same time, felt as if I should jerk away from being burned further. Zalia kept raising and lowering, making me feel waves of cold and hot... it felt so nice. But, at this point, I was just laying here, doing nothing. I didn't know what to do with myself. I was becoming increasingly jittery. After a minute or two of her alone doing the work, I sat up and placed my hands on either side of her waist and thrust my hips up into her as she now sat on my lap. The noises of the movements were quite strange, but Zalia's moans and my occasional grunts overshadowed it. Zalia wrapped her legs around my waist and crossed them at her ankles near my lower back. She then wrapped her arms around my neck as I took over controlling the movement. She kept her face only inches away from mine, so each groan sent a wave of burst onto my face and chest. From here, I could see she was being affected, heavily. She had a dazed, yet excited look, if you can imagine.

For the next several minutes, she enjoyed the ride as I took control. It felt nice to be in control of her plans, instead of needing to be forcefully held down "against" my will to have it done. Zalia reached under my arms, and brought them behind my shoulder blades and pulled herself close to me. Her breasts climbed and slipped against my chest. _I got her; hook, line and sinker. _I gave a eased smile, as her head now sat over my right shoulder.

"I want... " Zalia whispered through her enjoyment, as she placed a hand on the left side of my neck and used it as leverage to bite the op of my right ear. "...more..."

"That... can be arranged." I replied through my breaths.

I used any remaining strength I had that wasn't sucked away by her to lift my hips and force Zalia onto her back, draping her legs onto my shoulders. I stopped moving and looked down at her. She uncurled her arms away from my neck and laid them at her side, slightly outstretched. I felt diabolical. The tables turned from earlier tonight. I controlled her now. I pushed her forward slightly, causing her to roll onto her back more than lying down. I repetitively thrust at an angle downward. Zalia's reactions became anew. Her moans were higher pitched now, and her fingers grasped the sheets tightly with each push on her. She made quite a few short one syllable exclamations for the several minutes I did this.

"Zex... I'm..." Zalia winced through gasps.

"I think... I'm... too." I replied through forcing thrusts."Do... you?"

"No... Go... ahea-" Zalia sighed.

"Are you... sure?" I double checked.

"It's fine... Do it." She grew more energized.

_Should I really? This could cause problems... I mean... what if? - If she says it's fine, then it is. She knows the risks. No one will know it was with you, anyway. - What if they DO... They could have cameras anywhere.- Then so what? - I'm not even going to explain this to you. Now who is the pathetic one?_

I leaned over and placed my lips on hers, despite both of our elevated breathing. With tongues tied, she kept moaning through her throat, slowly becoming higher in pitch. She pulled away after a minute or two,

"Zex... I'm..."

_Well, decision time "Casanova", what will you do. - I need to have the guts to face the Capitols ploys, even if my life is on the line. It already is, I have nothing to lose. "Let go", remember?_

I put every last bit of energy I had to the last dozen thrusts. My breathing picked up incredibly, Zalia's own noises spurring me on. She was approaching her limit; her climax. I was doing everything I possibly could to predict when it would peak. After a minute of predicting, I couldn't hold back anymore. I gave a few last thrusts before, upon the last one, I went in with all the force I could exert safely and stayed there, unravelling. I felt immediate sensations of heat as Zalia's head flew backward with a sharp cry, all I could see now was her neck and chin. Her hands grasped the sheets tight enough I noticed they were shaking, even slightly. Inside, I could feel her pulsing every second or so; grasping at me as if devouring it. Zalia's breathing heavily confirmed everything to me. Not only had I reached peak, but so did she. All energy drained from me in an instant. I fell to my knees, removing myself from her and dropped Zalia's legs onto the bed. I let my head hang, as if I shut down._ Wow... I didn't think you were actually going to... - Thought I was bluffing? - Yes, that's what I just said. -Well, I did, and I would do it again too._

"So warm... so much..." Zalia whispered. I was panting pretty hard at this point. I was shaking from the sudden drop. I felt jittery, but like I had crashed. I felt exhilerated more than anything. I closed my eyes and tried to recover. During which, Zalia got onto her knees and pushed me backward, which I did happily, and without resistance. I had no energy to resist.

My head hit the pillows and Zalia slid beside me, placing her head on my chest and laid her body along my side and hips. The night was silent between us, we spoke my touch for the night. Only chuckles and sighs existed between us that night. I turned over and was now facing her laying down. We kissed several times before she rolled to face away from me and I pulled her close.

I could die now and be content. But... I want to be happy, and living with Zalia for the rest of my days, no matter how few they may be, is what I am fighting for now.


	12. The Punishment of Love

I stirred from sleep, feeling well rested, as if the sleep was rightfully deserved. It was, after all that happened last night. No matter what the repercussions are, I wouldn't change a thing about last night. I woke, looking at Zalia's head looking away from me. Neither of us had moved. I could see the light from the shaded window was growing brighter during the half hour or so I laid there with her. I didn't want to wake her, but it might be a good idea to avoid suspicion when we get called for breakfast. Today was the first day of training after all.

After an additional 20 minutes or so, she sighed and gently turned over to look at me over her shoulder, reaching her hand back to touch my hip, to assure herself I was still there.

"Morning." I said in a whisper.

"Morning." she said giving a sleepy smile.

"We might want to get up. One of us should leave earlier than the other, to avoid any suspicion and for anyone to see us leaving together."

"Alright. I'll go first I guess... since this is your room." Zalia yawned, sitting up. I remained where I was and watched her slide her feet onto the floor, gathered her clothes and redressed.

"I should probably get a change of clothing too." She chuckled as she sat back on the bed, where I had no slid up into a sitting position. She leaned over and kissed me, which I pulled her closer for. After a bit, she pulled away and I began,

"I guess we should try to avoid each other for a day or two, outside of just leisurely talk or needed discussion for the alliance." I suggested, not happy about it.

"Yeah, I guess," she whispered, leaning in for another kiss. "I'll talk to you at dinner tonight, just sit nearby and we can talk. Just because we talk doesn't mean we are in an alliance, after all." She commented and walked to the door and clicked open the lock, which remained locked luckily for us. The door shut behind her with a sad thud.

I waited another 20 minutes before deciding to rise out of bed and take a short shower. I felt fine, happy even. This is the first time since the reaping I have been happy. It started with Zalia's arrival in my room, and has lasted even now.

I slid on a new change of clothes. I went with the typical black pants, but decided to wear another dark red shirt. All these clothes were picked out for options by the Capitol. They weren't very vibrant colors. No yellow or pinks or anything. Typical black, dark reds, blues, browns and grays. The pants are all black, we have no option for that. The shirt is what is our choice. There are many different choices of style pants. Form-fitting, loose, tight... I always preferred loose. I'd rather not give any ideas to anyone. The shirt though, I prefer a little tighter. I don't really care, so I randomly grab a color that seems good and throw it on. I don't have a preference there.

So today, I had a looser dark red long sleeve with typical loose fitting pants. I brushed my hair the best I could and scrubbed my face clean. I stretched my arms and legs shortly before exiting my room, looking both ways before entering the hallway; scanning for watchers. The hallways were bare. I exited my door, clicking it closed behind me. I noticed Irvine at the far end of the hall, exiting his room as well. _Good, I won't be the only one showing up late to breakfast._ I made my way to the cafeteria, I guess you could call it now. _Feels like high school all over again. The smell of bleach and food mixing around the atmosphere of people you liked and hated all in the same room, forced to choose from all the same meals. This is just like high school back home, except you'll be competing with these companions in more than just academics or sports. _I walked in the door, to receive glares from nearly everyone. All whispering stopped as I entered the room. I kept walking, but looked around and raised an eyebrow at anyone who dared make eye-contact. My sight scanned to Zalia, she and Emerald sat together in the corner. Zalia's head was down, Emerald had a hand on her back and was leaning over saying something to her. Something happened, and I don't feel good about it. I grabbed my food, even getting a stare from the cooks who were sliding more food out onto the buffet style serving stations. All the stares felt like needles jabbing me then removing themselves, leaving little trace. I became a pin cushion for entertainment or attention, it seems. I sat down beside, Zalia, Emerald on her other side.

"What happened?" I asked in a whisper, leaning over my plate, looking around the room at the top corner of my eye.

"They know." she spoke, upset, but not weeping.

"Know what?"

"About us."

"The alliance?"

"No... You know." Zalia looked at me with concerned eyes.

"They do?...How?"

"... They KNOW we did. Have proof."

"...They didn't...!"

"They did. They all know."

"Are you sure?"

"Ye-"

"ATTENTION ALL TRIBUTES AND CITIZENS OF PANEM." a voice boomed through the speakers scattered throughout the walls of the cafeteria. I could hear the voice echoing in the halls as well.

Oh, boy... public announcement. When we are all involved in an announcement, it was being broadcast nationally. Anyone within ear shot of a television or some archaic radio would be listen and watching.

"As you know, the Hunger Games purpose is to prevent an uprising and to keep Panem in a state of peace... However, during the Hunger Games each year, we increase our level of tolerance for even the most simple of rights of all Citizens, that includes the Tributes who are in line to enter the Arena. This increased security is in reminder of the uprising so long ago. Any breaking of the rules is not tolerated without punishment. It is for this reason, we are broadcasting this announcement on all audio and visual wavelengths for every station in Panem. It was discovered, and recorded, that one Tribute was not in their room after the curfew of midnight last night. It was discovered that this tribute left their room and made their way into another Tribute's room. Nothing involuntary was performed, but we do have records of these two Tributes remaining together for the remainder of the night and -" _Oh, god they don't know, do they? _" - and these two tributes did have sexual intercourse during the past night." I looked over at Zalia, I know her heart was in her stomach, mine was at my feet. I didn't deny nor regret anything, I just can't believe they know and recorded it. I was wondering if it was just audio, or video as well. I suspected the worst, knowing the Capitol's methods of embarrassment.

"We have both visual and audio recordings as proof of such an event." At this moment, a small night vision blurred clip appeared on one of the bare walls in the cafeteria. I was shocked... I couldn't believe it. The angle switched a few times. It was still rather dark, but...I felt sick. They had us pinned down the whole time, and we never knew it. They switched from the point when she was at my waist, to when I had her on her back. I looked over at Zalia, in disbelief. She was just a stone, looking at the screen. The announcement continued,

"As stated previously, this kind of rule breaking doesn't come without a punishment... Zexion Cimmerian and Zalia White, it is with this crime you are hereby charged. Your punishment will be severe. Such merry-making during a time where you should be contemplating the bad mistakes your ancestors made in rebellion, you make an additional bad choice in your own form of reeblling against the rules the Capitol has set. As punishment, you are both to face off in a fully armed duel against each other. The duel will take place this afternoon after lunch. Everyone will gather in the training room at the designated time to watch the duel. This will also be broadcasted. Failure to fight will result in a more severe punishment."

And with that, I was sentenced to either kill or be killed by the one thing I cared for more than anything. I could imagine my mother's face, in complete shock. I could die before even entering the arena, that has to be a first in the Hunger Games. I grabbed Zalia's hand and sat there silently for a long while, even after the tables has cleared and the tributes headed to training.

"Zalia..." I spoke after a long while of silence. "I'm sorry..." I sighed, closing my eyes, my heart straining to keep itself strong, for her as well as myself.

"It's okay. It's just a duel right? We would have fought in the Arena eventually... I guess this just makes it easier." she said, tears forming in her eyes.

"Look," I opened to my eyes and turned her head to look into mine. "I wouldn't rather die by anyone else than you. Fight your best in that duel. Don't hold back, okay? You need to live."

"... But, I can't... not you... I..." She stammered.

"You can. This is what the Capitol can do. One of us needs to survive, Zalia. You need to." I said, tightening my grip on her hand. She closed her eyes in sorrow.

We skipped training that morning. No one came looking for us. No one cared what we did now, as long as we were miserable, and we did what the Capitol told us to do; be the jesters for their entertainment. The Capitol had to be eating this up. The first sex scandal of the Hunger Games. I can see it being history books. The children or college students learning our names, being the first to blatantly disobey the Capitol with such humble human acts. Something anyone could do at any time outside of the invisible cage you are placed in upon your name being drawn, caused one of us to die. Would it be recorded as a martyristic milestone, or one of disobedience and rebellion. Quite a way to start a rebellion.

Lunch came and went, I managed to convince Zalia to eat and keep the food down. I ate a little, and several times I had to force my stomach to keep it down. I took her hand and led her from the table when one peacekeeper came to bring us to the training room ahead of the rest of the Tributes.

We were led to the training room. At this point, it had been fitted with a large cage-like apparatus. _A Cage? How ironic..._ We were each led to a specialist to prep us for the duel.

"Can we get prepped together?" I asked, still clinging to her hand.

"No. You must separate until you face each other." The peacekeeper said pulling my shoulder, making my hand slip out of hers. She gave me a look of complete sadness, one I had never seen anyone show. I might as well cut my own heart out at this rate.

We were led to rooms across the cage from each other. The male weapon and armor specialists slipped off my old shirt and slid on a cloth shirt, with thicker sections on my shoulders, forearms, chest and back. It was still very light and highly maneuverable. My pants were left alone. I was handed a thin metal shield, about the size of a small trash can lid, and a short sword. About 18 to 20 inches long. I held it in my hand and my sight flashed to the shiny metal before me being blood stained. Reality was twisting and fusing with day evoked nightmares. I could hear the Tributes filing into the training room outside the door.

I mediated a few minutes until the door opened and I was escorted into the cage. We were to meet at the center, like a typical sportsman-like gesture. I only saw it as a slap in the face. "For the last time, look into the eyes of the one who you loved, but is now going to try and kill you, all because we can ruin your love and make it the death of you."

We stood face to face. She looked sexy, yet dangerous. I didn't think the armor would look as good as it did on her. I wanted to slime, but Zalia's expression sucked any positive emotion from me, as if it never existed. I breathed deeply as she reached her hand out for a shake, as they wished. I grabbed her hand and pulled her to me and kissed her for a long moment. After a second, she kissed back. At least, hopefully it was a goodbye kiss to her. I loved her and... if this is how it must be... I can't fight it. I'll take the fall and she'll live on.

The peacemakers had to pull us away from each other. We were brought to our respective sides and sat down on a small stool.

"Zalia White and Zexion Cimmerian. You are brought here to duel for disobeying the Capitol's regulations concerning curfew. You are sentenced to duel each other. You will fight for as long as we deem fit or until one of you dies. The time has been pre-decided and is fixed. The buzzer will signal the beginning and end of the the designated time. You can use anything on your person at the current time at your disposal. Time will only decline when there is fighting occurring between both of you. Do you understand the rules?"

I nodded, not even taking my eyes off the floor. I didn't look to see Zalia's reply. We were removed from the stools and left alone in the cage. It was a 25 foot by 25 foot cage, steel bars about an inch think ran high above us, no ceiling to it. I looked into Zalia's eyes. Her body looked as if she was going to tear me apart, but her eyes were asking for mercy. I gave her a look of begging. She looked at me and shook her head, allowing a tear to stream down her face. I breathed, I know allowing my heart to take it's last beats.

"Begin!" a voice sounded prior to a loud buzzer. I took a few steps towards Zalia, she kept her head hung low. I just walked up to her, not fearing her. Neither of us wanted to do this. I dropped the sword and placed my hands on her shoulders.

"Zalia, we don't need to do this." I whispered. "Just keep attacking me ruthlessly. I'll dodge and the time will decrease. We can both survive." This seemed to make her perk up. I had thought of it only seconds after the buzzer. I hadn't thought of it before. The time aspect wasn't informed during the sentencing.

"Why you?" Zalia snapped.

"Wha-" I turned and scrambled for my sword, but over shot my dive to reach it. I leapt to my feet and stood waiting for her to attack. Whether she heard me or not, I was going to dodge and survive this.

She was powerful. Even when I thoughts I wasn't underestimating her, I had. Each swing cut through the air like a knife with a high pitched slicing. I ran to each corner of the cage and faked her out, trying to get to my sword lying useless on the ground. I managed to get 2 attempted to grab it, but missed both times on purpose. Zalia's eyes were ones of a hunter. She didn't see me, she was a foe. That's all. I got one more chance to grab my sword. I dove for it, feeling Zalia's sword gash into my left knee upon the dive. The injury slowed my recoil time, so getting to my feet allowed her another chance to deal damage. Right shoulder, right thigh. All three were oozing blood and staining the grey cloth armor. Each movement slowly dyed the armor a dark red-brown color. I was a little slow for the next dodge. I was grazed, leaving only a scratch, but on my knees, grasping my sword, I was thrown sideways after taking a kick to the side of my head. I was the fighter normally. If my plan worked, I needed to make it look like I was no threat at all. Right now, I was beaten up enough to have a hard time against anyone, and Zalia was stronger than I expected. I could see Emerald wincing and crying, her face a puffy red. The rest of the eyes were either females crying seeing two lovers fighting like caged rats or they were stern male onlookers, not expressing how they felt about this.

Another blow to my side, my left shoulder. I was toppled, rolling into the bars of the cage. I laid there dazed, not being able to see from one eye from blood flooding into it, still holding my sword miraculously.

"What's the matter, Zexion? You can penetrate her in bed, but not in battle?" Who said that? Irvine? Daren? Kensei? Ryo? A male certainly...I couldn't tell. Similar slurs were sounding all over the arena. I felt the twangs of the taunts. Had I not been actually afraid for my life, I would have laughed later. None of them could understand.

Zalia kicked my side, "Get up! Stand up! Do you HEAR me?" Zalia shouted down at me. I groaned and got to my knees, stumbling. I held my arms out to the sides and dropped my sword, which at this point was coated with my own blood. The glimmering metal stained by the blood of the one labelled the warrior. I could see the time passing by quickly; the blood festering and rotting the metal away into fragments of brown dust.

Next thing I knew, I was face up on my back, barely making out the soles of Zalia's boots lowering down upon my chest. My breathing grew difficult. Each breath made me feel more and more restricted. I felt like I was being swallowed by an Anaconda; slowly squeezing the life out of me then devours ing whole. Her boot became heavier and heavier. My bones creaked in my chest, whining in pain. My vision blurred and I felt heat rising in my throat. Like an air bubble caught in a pipe that dislodges itself, I coughed up a mouthful of blood; spurting it all over my chest and Zalia's boot and pant leg. My vision was a flowing red blur. I could see my clothes were a majority dark red with occasional grey untouched spots. I felt drugged. Nothing worked. My world was closing in. I closed my eyes and just laid there. I felt myself jostling about, but pain was beyond what I could feel. I felt a gash on my face over the eye, stomach, leg and possibly a stab in my right shoulder. I only felt impacts, not pain. Anyone could do what they wanted with me. I was so far down, drowning in my own blood, my own life, my own fire.

Just to end Zalia's monstrous attack, I wished that buzzer would sound. I wished I would be living to hear it.


	13. Fade to Black

I was drifting in a black abyss. Falling slowly; sinking. I knew that I had fulfilled my end of the suicide plan. Zalia had won and she would move on. I could only hope Emerald and her could put up a fight together, without me; fulfilling the alliance made. I was left behind, yes, but as a willing sacrifice. I brought this fate upon myself. I fell in love with her, and I'd assumed that she fell in love with me as well. Such magic, such passion couldn't be faked. We did love each other. As the Capitol's way, they tore it apart, by forcing our own blades to cut us apart; the ultimate punishment.

_Are you alone? Are you alright? Are you afraid? Are you still strong? Are you regretting what happened between us?... Are you missing me? Will I ever see you again? _

Behind my black eyes, I was reaching for anything to cling to. Even though she had been the one to attack me, and ultimately bring me down, I knew it was the Capitol that killed me, not her. Had I known what would result from my death, I would have still given my life to make sure she at least had her chance in the arena. I knew now she was strong, I made the right choice in giving my life for hers. As much as I hated the thought that I couldn't be there with her anymore; that someone else would take her hand as I had; I knew that without it, she wouldn't have happiness. Whether that happiness is with our without me, it was worth the sacrifice. I loved her, and my love would go beyond death to make sure she would remain happy eternally. _Beyond death..._ Those words confused me. I gave my life to make sure she had the chance at happiness. _Will she find it... without me? _I don't have a choice or the way to find out. I let all feeling slide away, and I became warm to a point of solid numbness. A more intense feeling of your skin feeling the warmth of the sun on a warm summer day. The slight tingling sensation as your cells begin to absorb the sunlight, tanning your skin. It felt nice. I accepted it and let myself go. _Letting myself go... I guess this was the real reasoning behind that saying all this time, huh?_ I drifted and fell, slowly and silently. I was content with my life. My will gave itself to her and now the bell could toll. Little did the Capitol know, I died with a smile on my face, a full heart and my pride unscathed. They couldn't kill all of me that easily. They may have caused my physical form to die off, but my spirit would still drift around this world, following her like a guardian angel, until the end of her days, when we can be together again.

ZALIA'S POV:

I remembered what they had done now. It all came rushing back once my mind became unclouded from the black. My first sight was him, laying there, a pool of viscous blood circling him like a halo. What had happened? I looked at my hand, holding a blade, dripping of the same fluid in thick droplets. I released it like it was burning me. I was shaking now. I couldn't feel anything but fear, sadness and regret. _What had I done?_ I looked over at him, his eyes closed peacefully, one with a large gash across it, flooding his cheek with red. I fell to my knees, holding my head in my hands, as if I was straining myself to keep it on my shoulders. I leaned over, and everything that I had eaten for lunch reappeared. The sour taste and smell were nothing compared to everything else that was attacking me at once. My nostrils burned, as vomit came from them as well. I looked over at him, lying there lifeless, wishing he would move; hold my hands and help me to my feet. He just laid there, turning cold. My whole body shook with fear. _What happened?_ _Did I kill him?_ The battle played in my mind, like a bad dream. This was the first time I had seen it. It was like the memory was being fed into my brain.

"STOP! DON'T" I screamed, leaning into my lap as I clutched my head, pressing my eyelids closed tightly. I dug my fingernails into my scalp near the crown of my skull.

"PLEASE! MAKE IT STOP!" I shreaked loudlym rearing my head back to screech at the ceiling, my throat burning from the acid and screaming, tears beginning to form in my eyes. I could hear the shuffling of feet as the Tributes left the room. The real show was over, they could go now.

I watched helplessly as I swung the sword at him, gashing his shoulder, knee, back, neck. How much more could he take? I willed myself to stop, but then remembered it didn't matter, it was all over now. My soul was being torn apart with every movement I made in the dream. I couldn't do anything to stop myself from killing him, ruthlessly. I could hear the taunts, the jokes. Everything I would have noticed had I been conscious, and more. Every fine detail. Each drop of blood oozing from his veins, each bead of sweat forming on my forehead, the wisps of wind from his multiple dives trying avoid me. A kick to the side of the head. I could feel a crack under my boot as I impacted his skull. That noise still haunts me to this day. He crashed against the bars and sank down. I shouted at him to get up. He rose to his feet, blind and broken, wavering from loss of balance or dazed from the blow to the head. He dropped his weapon, and just sat there, ready to be executed. I rolled onto my back, and curled up onto my side, in reality, screaming, crying, shaking. I couldn't do anything, as the sights that happened during my blackout were uploaded back to my brain. I was forced to watch as my sword slashed as Zexion's face, gashing his eye, sending forth a spatter of blood. It covered my arms, hands and face. I could feel as the blood dripped down my face, and onto my jawbone, eventually falling to Earth to join the other 3 pints that seemed to coat the floor. He was brought down onto his back, on which I rose my foot and placed it on the center of his chest. I forced everything I had onto it. I felt as his ribs began to give way, whining and splintering inside his layers of muscle, that has now been well severed in several places. His blood was everywhere. Nothing on either of us was not dotted with parts of his life. I watched as his eyes closed for a second, until a burst of blood erupted from his mouth, sending a flurry of it onto my boot and legging. Everything dripped with blood. Even the ceiling seemed to be allowing blood to rain down. I was getting sick. I rose onto my knees and vomited again, sending forth a searing pain in my chest and throat, coating the ground with green-ish yellow bile. There was nothing left for my stomach to offer the Capitol of entertainment. I wished I was dying with him there in my memories. They didn't stop. The blood exploded from his mouth. His entire body was coated with blood. His gray suit had turned red, and his breathing had become so faint. The hand that grasped my ankle, to remove it with everything he had, with every beat of his heart, and loosened and fell to the side, lifeless, stiff. I watched as his fingers twitched with the last few pulses his brain could strain itself to release. His mouth and lungs had now filled with blood and now was trickling down his face from the corners of his mouth. My hands felt sticky with blood. I looked at the face I had slept with the night before and was disgusted. His eyes were open, but were sheered with blood. He coughed again, letting a flood of red loose onto his chest and onto the floor. He was torn inside out. Red swirled and ran in rivers along the floor, he was the source. I hadn't received a scratch, and he was torn apart, by me. I felt as if my mind was being tortured, slowly prodded and pinned with needles until I became mentally numb, shutting down. This was only the beginning. I launched another blow upon his cold skin, stabbing the tip of the blade into his shoulder, another into his stomach, endlessly. I wouldn't stop. I watched as his eyes closed, his jaw became slack, his head slightly tipped of the side, allowing the pool of blood in his mouth to run onto the floor, dying it. My pleas meant nothing. I only screamed as the nightmares played on. I wanted to wake up, but I was already awake. This wasn't an nightmare, it was reality. As if mercy finally heard my cries, Peacekeepers grabbed my arms, making me drop the blade. I felt something enter my neck and the vision faded to black. Reality came back. The aftermath of the storm; the fury. The blood and bile mixed at my knees on the floor. The smell made me dizzy. My throat was burning away, my eyes were out of tears, felt as if they were blistering; peeling, yet strained and shouted for more. My chest was collapsing, caving in, my pupils of my eyes shook in pain and fear. I looked down at my hands, they were stained red, thick chunks of blood dried around my fingernails, lines of dark red skin striped my palm. The sword lay at my side, half covered in vomit and blood. My arms were speckled with red dots, dried. My chest was coated in a thin layer of blood, causing my shirt to stick to itself upon creases. I could taste the blood amidst the bile, a sickly thick liquid. The air I gasped was sour and rotten. I was being suffocated. My muscles ached, screamed in agony. I tried to calm myself. The shaking slowly stopped, my eyes fluttered half open, looking over everything. I focused on his face. His skin was red and raw. His eye was gashed and looked as if it was hanging by the nerve inside the socket. The eyelid was torn and tattered. The cheek was cut so deep that the gums and teeth of his upper jaw and mouth was exposed. The skull behind his eyebrow was also visible through the shredded skin. Blood coated everything in thin sheets. I was sick. I dry-heaved, coughing as thick mucus erupted, not wanting to leave my mouth. I closed my eyes and just ca;med myself. I have no idea how long it took, but everything eventually became clear.

I was scared of needles, but I was too emotionally frozen to care as the needle entered my neck. I could feel some cold fluid enter my veins and then fade away. I was walked into the cage. I vaguely remember Zexion looking at me, saying a few words. The buzzer signaled, then everything blacked out. Then the memory began, in which I did not recall giving the commands for. He held me by the shoulders, said something to me that would have been brilliant had I been able to do what he asked. I chased him, gashing him. I screamed again to make the memory stop. Someone touched my shoulder. I calmed down in an instant. I looked up, it was a Peacekeeper, wearing a red glove with a black skull on the palm and back of the hand. He touched a spot on my neck, which felt like the same spot that I was injected with something just minutes earlier. I became numb, but conscious.

I watched as he called another Peacekeeper over and they carried me out of the room. As I was pulled away, I wanted to reach for Zexion. He hadn't moved. He had long since turned cold and was far gone.


	14. Without Him

I was placed flat on my back on my bed, looking at the ceiling, feeling absolutely helpless and numb. The pain and shock still radiated through my body; each muscle fiber feeling shaken and electrocuted. I couldn't believe what the Capitol did. They turned us against each other. They knew who the wise one was. They knew who the strong one was. They knew who to exploit and how the other would react. They used me, to take out a leader. They used me... They used me to...

And now he was dead. Lifeless. A scrap of meat for the Capitol. An animal of sport that they killed for no reason. They weren't going to let a chance go to humiliate helpless citizens. They tore us inside out, scooped out our heart and minds and souls, then sliced our skin and bones apart into a complete massacre. They already tore us from our lives, then tore those lives apart then tore our bodies apart, using an puppeteered ally's hand to deepen the wound. And the worst part is... no one knows I was controlled. No one sees that I was drugged prior to the fight. I don't remember any of the events as they actually happened, only the uploaded memories.

It was too late anyway...

I just laid there as the control of my body slowly leaked back through my limbs, the blood still dried to my skin. As soon I could move my legs, I wobbled to the bathroom and washed him off me. I felt no less clean after the shower. I felt guilty of letting the last bit I had of him go. I sat curled up all night, weeping. After a while, the tears stopped flowing. The emotion had left me. It was one of the only controllable things I had, and they had forced that to be forfeited by tears. I felt just as cold as he was then, but my heart was still beating... but for what?

I eventually drifted to sleep. I woke up in the middle of the night. I needed to get out. This room felt like a cell. I clicked my doorknob open. They hadn't locked it from the outside, surprisingly. Although, it wasn't so much so because of what they just displayed, they had the power to use mental locks on all the tributes. No one dared place an eyelash out of line now.

I made my way to the door that opened to the roof. The cool air slid in from underneath the door and my toes shivered with the breeze. It too, was unlocked. The cold evening air perked my senses and made me feel alive for the first time in the few hours since the duel. I walked to the edge of the building and looked out over the Capitol. I saw young children stumbling around the sidewalk, chasing pebbles they had kicked, or strutting around with a new hat or jacket. _Those children will grow up to follow in the footsteps of those monsters, those murderers, those heartless demons bound in human form. They are so innocent now, but..._ I was all alone, even in this bustling city. I was so detached now... from everything. _How is Emerald doing?_ I thought about her for an instant. Call me selfish, but I could only think about my own emptiness, my own undoing. I stared blankly at the neon lights below, tears dripping down my face, leading a burning line down my cheeks and dripping onto the railing I leaned on. _I can't believe he's really gone._

The breeze swayed my hair, as if trying to caress my mind into a sense of comfort. It was too late for that. Far too late. After about an hour of observing the Capitol's visaged innocence, I turned to return to my room. The hallways were still stoic and stiff as I had left it. I approached Emerald's door, raised my hand and stopped. I wanted to knock, but I couldn't. I didn't need to speak to anyone now. No words I say, or anything I admit will bring him back, repair the damage I have done. The more precious life I have taken. I lowered my hand and reluctantly turned to continue down the hallway. I slid inside my door and the darkness enveloped me inside my room. It felt like the greatest amount of stale comfort I have managed to find solace inside since his death. It has felt like ages, when it's only been a few hours.

I slid under the blankets again. One the edge of sleep, I was startled awake by a gentle knock; only I knew as Emerald's. I placed my feet on the floor and groggily made my way to the door and clicked it open. Emerald's face looked puffy, like she had been sobbing as I had. She was hurt as much as I was. We both had feelings for him, after all. I was selfish to not see that she would be in pain from this too. However, it wasn't her hands covered in his blood.

"Hey..." Emerald sighed, sniffling.

"Hey." I replied similarly, stepping aside, granting her access. She walked across the room and sat on the bed. I sat beside her and threw my right arm around her shoulder, and hung my head forward. We didn't need to speak words, we knew what we were both feeling. He was more than a lost comrade, he was our leader in this alliance, and we were nearly blind without him.

"We can do this, Zalia." Emerald spoke, seeming to be determined. This is the first glimpse of light I have seen the abysmal darkness I have been enveloped into.

"We can," I agreed. "We need to." It was from that moment on, we both agreed to continue the alliance, on his behalf, as well as our own survival. We agreed to not weep for him further. We needed to be strong, intimidating; act as if nothing affected us.

And that we did. The week continued. We started training a day or two late, but Emerald managed to get a 9 because of her excelled use of two handed weapons. She used a halberd to near perfection is obliterating oncoming targets with heads of melons. The slimy mess upon the floor after her display to the Gamekeepers was frightening. If anyone could imagine the human gore equivalent, they would have needed to be on a wartime battlefield. Emerald acted unimpressed or shocked when she got her score. I was impressed and proud of her for keeping such a cool.

I gave my best performance with wielding dual weapons; shortened katanas. As if I needed to prove I was good with a sword anyway... I managed to score a 10, which made me tied for the highest score of the Games, with Zane Rion from District 3. This success kept our spirits up, and we weren't going to stop now.

So arrived the day where we'd all be able to speak to the Capitol directly; the Interviews. These meetings would be broadcast all over Panem in a sort of public service program. Nothing else was to be played on any channel during this time. All airwaves and television lines were to be overtaken and at the control of the Capitol. The whole world seemed to stop turning during the Games, and the interviews were no exception.

I met with my own stylist the day before the Interviews. My manners were decent enough, so I didn't need to do much altering with that. I could become hotheaded, stubborn and rude rather quickly. However, it's expected for someone of my age and... temperament. My stylist settled on something basic, yet stunning. I don't know who I was trying to show off. My abilities to do well in the arena or my "flattering form", as she described it. However, I didn't disagree with what she chose. It threw me at first. She placed the outfit on a chair nearby, as she ran to get some pins to make any final hemming adjustments. I had only underwear on at this point; wasn't flattering either. But this outfit apparently needs this to make it "sit correctly", whatever that meant. The outfit was black, sitting in a folded heap in the seat of the chair. _Is she trying to make me look smaller than I am? _ I decided to humor her, after her idea for the golden armor upon the entry to the Capitol, I needed to at least trust her with this.

After a few minutes, she returned and unfolded the outfit. It had 3 parts. A shirt, a skirt and what looked like leggings. It was a simple outfit, but in all black? I was rather confused, but I humored her. I tried everything on, and it fit well, but I looked at myself in the mirror and my hands and head looked like a bright light in the middle of the pitch black darkness of night. It looked very odd.

"There. Looks perfect. It shows you off quite well. Now then... Come here and turn around." she observed, like a proper college professor would analyze a piece of work. I was confused, but I turned around. She tapped something on my back and she turned my shoulders back to the mirror. I watched as my outfit changed from black to a blue-green color. It slowly changed in random patches and after a few seconds had become a swirling sheet of blue and green wisps.

"What the heck?" I whispered, surprised.

"It's a rare fabric containing the same thing found in mood rings. Your emotions change quickly, so your outfit should show that. You can't lie or try to hide emotions with this outfit, so you'll need to really control how you feel.

"That will be hard to do. No doubt they'll talk about..." I trailed off, my outfit immediately swirling to gray.

"Well, you'll be choosing to wear something that reveals honesty. That is hard to come by being in the Capitol. All your Tributes usually hate the Capitol, however, District 1 is close to them. You needn't be afraid in the Capitol.

"... but I am. They killed him," I commented, the outfit now giving wisps of a dark red amongst the gray. "And they can kill me too."

"Zalia. This outfit will do far more than just present your emotions for everyone to see. It will not hide what you are feeling. Honesty is something the Capitol needs right now. They have been overthrown once already. They don't need that to happen again. They need to prove that someone in the Districts doesn't need to cower behind stunning outfits or intimidating suits of armor. At least for now..." She commented and trailed off. I looked over at her, with confused, yet surprised eyes. My shirt began to spread back to blue-green. _This thing is sensitive. Does she have an idea what the alliance may lead to? Was it more than just surviving the Games in the first place? I don't even know the answer to that. Winning the Games, sure, I could do that. But taking our alliance to breaking the Capitol again? Never..._

So, I had nothing else to say, and she left my room. I liked the outfit. It wasn't like one of those 50 cent novelty toy mod rings at the state fairs in old times. This method of color change wasn't just fading. The colors swirled and traversed across the fabric like it was some sort of plasma screen tv bent into a cloth like fabric. In reality, it was just that essentially. The underwear I was told to wear takes the heat, pulse rate and several other readings from my body and runs it through some sort of analyzer and decided upon a primary, secondary and teriary color for the outfit and displays those in dazzling designs across the fabric. It took a mere second for the costume to emit a new emotion. It supposedly was developed in District 3, but was later moved to District 1 for the use of gold wiring in the analyzer, as well as the amount of microscopic plasma crystals present in the fabric. It was in essence, made of luxury items, therefore in District 1 territory.

The next day passed slowly. I stayed with Emerald most of the day. We spoke little; we didn't need to. We knew what we needed to do, and we were going to do it, or die trying.

I slid the outfit on the next evening, in preparation for the interviews. Caesar had hosted the last interviews before the Capitol fell the first time. Caesar's son had followed in his footsteps and had taken his role. He was the spitting image of Caesar. The hair of a frosted blue, with a deeper light blue at the tips of the swoop-like spikes pushed back on his head. His outfit, this year, was a suit with vertically running strips of dark blue that fades at the edges to a frosted, sparkle-donned white-blue. He looked, to me, like Jack Frost in human form.

Caesar's son, Kaiser, embarked onto the stage first, taking his place at the center, upon a white cushioned chair. He looked rather relaxed. He had the same confidence on stage that his father had. A chip off the old block. We were introduced one by one. As customary, I was first. My stylist quickly clicked on my outfit as I walked towards the door. Immediately, the suit turned a yellow-amber. I could only assume this meant nervous or anxious. The color did look good on me compared to the white seats we were sitting on as we waited our turns to be interviewed. I looked down the semi-circle of seats on the stage. My outfit sent flurries of red sparks across the 3-dimensional screen when I noticed the chair next to Emerald was vacant. _They placed a chair for him even though he's dead?_

"Welcome to the 100th Hunger Games Pre-Game Interviews. During these little chats, you'll discover somethings about the Tributes that I bet they didn't even expect for anyone to hear." He spoke, giving a coy wink to the cameras. Unlike Caesar, Kaiser was a bachelor The multitudes of women around his age would swoon and blush at his many witty, yet flirty, acts in the audience. I rolled my eyes when I would see one of the women bat her eyelashes or sigh like she was on some sort of high.

I blanked out on the introduction to the Interviews. I was too focused on trying to keep my emotions in check. I didn't want to to quite reveal the secret of my outfit yet. I wanted that raw emotion to play out as I was asked questions. This idea better as hell work.

"Let's begin then, shall we?," he spoke, raising to his feet, spreading his arms wide and twisting his chest towards me. "Zalia White, female Tribute from District 1, would you mid joining me for a while?" Kaiser gave a slight bow. _What am I, some sort of princess? Sorry, Kaiser I don't care about your flirting._ I rose and joined him in the center. Upon reaching his side, he held his hand out, which I instinctively placed my hand in. Kaiser leaned his head down, which raising my hand and gave my hand a slight peck. This made me want to gag. I don't need this pretty boy, who had everyone's eyes, or adversely everyone's eyes had him, to be flirting with me. He later did the same to every female Tribute. I sat descended into the same type of cushioned chair as the one Kaiser sat in. The outfit still remained in an amber color, as I was still nervous as to what would be asked.

"Well, Zalia." Kaiser, raised and eyebrow. I can only imagine what he must be thinking. I made a mental list of what would be asked. It was quite obvious. "Why not start from the moment being picked for the Games really hit you, hmm?" He folded his hands in his lap.

"Well, perhaps, just as every Tribute here can agree, it was when our names were read aloud in front of the entire District's population. It's like a vocal guilty verdict. It pissed me off." I answered honestly. This reaction made Kaiser raise his eyebrows in surprise.

"Well, well, well. Did you outfit just change before our eyes, Zalia."

"Um... Yes." I answered, not knowing why he was asking a rhetorical question, because obviously it changed to an orange-red color with my annoyance at this question.

"I see. Quite a brilliant costume indeed, very honest and humble. Now then, moving on. Did you get a chance to view any of the reapings on the train trek to the Capitol?"

"Yes, I did. Only a few though, it wasn't a terribly long train ride."

"Ah, I see. Which Districts did you see?"

"I believe I saw my own, as well as Districts 2, 3 ,4 and 5. I don't exactly remember about District 5." As I explained, my outfit turned to a neutral green.

"Ah, you didn't catch 6 through 12 then?"

"Nope." I gave with a slight pop of my lips.

"I see. What did you think of the competition?"

"As anyone here must have felt, they felt fear of another Tribute, or Tributes. We don't know what to feel on that train. NOTHING makes sense when you are there."

"Alright. Onto maybe a more specific question. As everyone knows, "_ Here we go... I need to be careful here. _"About Zexion. Where did you first meet him?"

"Inside the Capitol just before we rode the Chariots in."

"... and?"  
>"And, what?" I asked, the outfit turning to orange-red again.<p>

"What did you think of him?"

"... Do I really need to explain it. Everyone knows what the fuck it led to..." I spoke, the outfit turning a deeper red, yet still keeping some wisps of orange.

" Yes, we do. But when did this little infatuation take place?"

"What the hell does it matter now?" I spoke, giving spurts of red across a now gray canvas.

"Yes, we all lament what happened to Zexion Cimmerian, male from District 8. However, Zalia," Kaiser places his hand on mine that was rest atop the armrest closest to him and looks into my eyes. "Everyone would like to know this drama-story."

"You want to know what happened. I like him, more than that. Everyone knows what happened. Then the punishment came, in where we could need to have on of us die. I was _used_." I placed emphasis on 'used'. I tried to not place blame directly on the Capitol until the end of my comment.

"Used?"

"Yes, used?"

"In what way, hmm..?"

"That duel wasn't even close to being fair. I wasn't the one fighting, even though it looked that way."

"You were stronger than he was, Zalia. Don't cut yourself short. You won because you are stronger."

"No, I won because it wasn't ME fighting. I was being controlled, by some injection given to me before the fight. They kept the weaker of the two by using their artificial strength kept behind a needle!" I spoke sternly to the camera, switching focus to Kaiser once and a while. I was now a bright red. Kaiser clearly didn't know how to smoothly change the subject.

"So. You earned a 10? That's quite an achievement, even for Distirct 1."

"I suppose so." I sighed, trying to calm myself to the amber color again.

"What family do you have at home, Zalia?" he asked, trying to stay off the Games entirely. This went on for a few minutes of back and forth commentary.

"Zalia, one last question. About Zexion..."

"Yes..?"

"Did you love him?"

"What do YOU think?" I asked, giving a neutral glare.

"I suppose you did, concerning what happened."

"Well, how long do you think he loved you? If he ever did."

"He did and I don't know, about the same time I felt I loved him possibly?"

"We'll never know about him now. However, is it possible his legacy could still live on?"

"What are you getting are, Kaiser?"

"I meant. That night. You aren't concerned?"

"Of course not. It doesn't matter right now, does it? That chances I am going to die before anything happens is pretty high. I am not concerned yet." Just then a small chime went off signalling my ending to the interview.

"Thank you, Zalia White from District 1." I got up, gave a slight bow to the audience and returned to my seat.

For the next hour, I kept trying to focus, but it keeps moving towards little worries and concerns that arose during the interview. Kaiser's last question. I kept nagging at me. I may never know if I had the chance to keep Zexion's bloodline in the gene pool, unless I win. It hadn't crossed my mind until now. I was in the moment, and then the punishment happened. I had no time to think of consequences I dealt on myself. They weren't entirely bad, if things came full circle. I may have lost him, but perhaps a part would remain in this world.

The interviews ended. Everything else was typical. My interview was the most entertaining. Emerald wasn't involved in the punishment, and no one else knew about the trick we pulled on Zexion that night, prior to my individual meet up with him, so her's was simply some minor questions of how close she and Zexion were. Emerald said close friends, in fear of starting some sort of argument about who Zexion cared for more. Not that is matters now.

We left the stage. I went back to my room and relaxed for the day. My Stylist entered shortly after I changed out of the interview outfit. She took it and left me with the outfit for tomorrow. No special designs this time. A plain black shirt, close fit and snug black pants. That was what I was to wear to face them tomorrow. Tomorrow at noon, the Games began.

I slept more soundly than I expected. Overnight. I let him go. I needed to keep him in the back of my mind. I needed my focus for now. I needed to pick up a sword again and swing it at a human today. I can't let his death, that wasn't by my hand affect me any longer. I let it all go. He drifted away while the Games became my focal point.

I got dressed in the black clothing I was given, slid on the boots provided and stepped out my room for the last time. I left everything behind except what I planned to do, survive, at all costs.

I ate my final plate of food. Quite a few were eating all that they possibly could. I decided against that tactic. Being bloated with food will only make the blood bath escape harder for them. I sat with Emerald, speaking through facial expressions. Only taking a few seconds to explain something we couldn't with faces alone. We spoke of a quick way to meet up inside the arena. We are to look for each other as soon as we emerge. If we don't see each other, we are to run backward and find cover. We'll wait until the bloodbath is over, then return to the center to meet. I am a District 1 tribute, so using the Careers as a ploy to make a safe meeting place for the beginning, only to gather supplies and quit later is a Plan A for us.

The warning went off that we should fund our stylists and have then, as well as our mentors, to be led to your starting point.

"Are you ready?" My stylist asked as we made our way to tube # 2, which looked as if it was on the southern most side. It seemed the arrangement stayed as a larger circle, just as the past had been. There was some last minute preparations. Introduction of a tracker tag under my skin, another few shots of some kind as well. I didn't ask what was in them. It didn't matter.

"Good luck, Zalia." She spoke those simple words she is so famous for and gave me a hug. I stepping into the tube. I turned to face them, giving a neutral look. I inhaled and exhaled before the tube began to rise to the surface. As the tube rose through the ceiling, it became dark. I felt like I was in a dark elevator. I noticed that the air became cooler and cleaner slowly. The circle above me opened to bright sunlight. The world around me slowly was revealed. The sun was alone in the sky. The Cornucopia in front of me about 50 yards away. The area around the Cornucopia was normal bare, first ground. Around the Cornucopia was a stash of bags and weapons, as well as many other tools. The tubes began to drop freeing us from any restraint, outside of the typical explosives set around each platform.

All 24 Tributes had taken their places.

_Three._

_Two._

_One._

_Begin the 100th Hunger Games, Centennial Calamity._


	15. The First Days

I looked at the tributes beside me. To my right was Irvine then Vince beyond. _Great..._ To my left was Pat. _What is this? Did they place me next to the few most worthless and annoying tributes for a reason?_ I looked around the circle, counted each tribute. To my left was, in order, Irvine, Pat and Roselia, Ryo and Ima. To my right was Vince and Tara, Jake and Mia.

The buzzer signaled. Everyone around me jumped from the metal circles and dashed towards the Cornucopia. I ran towards the Cornucopia. Vince was the first to diagonal his way towards me. I tackled him with my shoulder, he tripped about 5 feet from me I leaped over his flailing legs, as his head was face down. My right heel landed at the base of his neck and the tip of my toe near the back of his head. I leapt and just kept going. I heard a gunshot, then many others. Deaths were already occurring everywhere. Pat was the next. Upon seeing me step on Vince, he dashed towards me. Whether this was because I killed the only other asshole like him, I have no idea, but I shoved him to the ground, where he quickly got to his feet and charged again. I sent my fist right towards the center of his chest, knocking him back, and the wind right out of him. He gasped for breath as I kneed his chin upward. I heard a breaking sound of something. Blood spurted from his nose and he cupped one hand on his face and the other grasped his chest. I just turned and kept going. Irvine was already beginning to dig through items. Tara and Roselia collapsed, breathing shallowly and bleeding heavily about 10 feet away. There was no one in the immediate area. Just Irvine and I. Irvine hadn't spoken much to me since we were chosen. We aren't enemies, outside of the obvious one the Games put us in, but we weren't allies at all. I approached, amidst all the occasional gunshots, and began digging through what was there. I grabbed a small blue and white bag. I didn't check what was inside, but lying at the base of the Cornucopia, beside Irvine's standing point, was a long wooden pole. The top was donned with a curved blade about 2 feet long. _A Halberd..._ I wanted it. Keeping an opponent as far away as possible is good. It's not dual weapons like I prefer, but it's something. I walked over and grabbed it. I heard Irvine growl slightly as I approached. Once he saw I was only after the halberd, he eased back. I grabbed one more bag, a slightly heavier green and black one. Then I stopped to look around. I looked to where I saw Emerald in the corner of my eye earlier. She was to my right, beyond Jake and Mia's location. There were bodies lying around, but only 2... neither of which were hers. I wanted cover. I looked back towards Irvine, and saw a pine forest in the distance behind him. I looked around and took off. Everyone was beginning to scatter now. I knew Vince was dead, and Pat might have been. Tara and Roselia looked pretty bad off now. That puts Districts 8 and 2 in poor shape. It was then I noticed that all the District tributes were together. The boy and girl were place beside each other from the same District. _Why would they place possible allies so close to each other?_

I didn't care. I ran towards that forest with all the energy I could muster. I saw a white blur fly just an inch from my nose. The whistling was unmistakeable, it was an arrow. I looked to my right. I saw Jason, I believe his name was, from District 6, reloading for another arrow. I could tell his upper arm strength wasn't great enough to load quickly. I switched the halberd to my left hand and slugged both bags onto my right shoulder, serving as a barrier from an arrow. He rose the bow again. I heard the swishing of the backpack fabrics rubbing together, then I heard and felt pressure. _Damn it. He hit one of the bags, hopefully he missed whatever is inside these things_. It took a second to realized that the bags weren't enough to stop the arrow, an inch of the arrow tip was embedded in my shoulder now. I winced and kept running. I bounded through the bushes and underbrush at the edge of the woods. I was finally safe with some cover.

I walked as quietly as I could on a leaf-litter lined forest floor. The interior of the forest was fairly spacious. Large tall pine tress blocked out most light high above, blocking light to keep smaller trees from growing. I walked into this forest section about a mile before deciding to stop and check my shoulder. I grabbed the arrow and dislodged it, with a painful gasp from my shoulder. I could feel a drip of warmth trickle down my arm before I even removed the backpack. The arrow pierced the green and black one, which was made of a thicker material. The wound wasn't deep and the bleeding slowed after placing my hand over it and applying pressure, allowing the blood to seep between my fingers and fall to the ground.

After the bleeding slowed to a trickle, I took small spans of time to search through the bags. There wasn't medical supplies in them. _Just my fucking luck._ There was a piece of cotton cloth though. I ripped a large strip off and tied it to my upper arm tightly over the wound. It would help the blood flow slow down at least. I searched the rest of the bags. Two small hunting knives, a small pouch of cashews, a small roll of bread, a half full cantine of water, the cloth, a small 6 inch length of wire and a spool of string. _Not much to work with, despite grabbing two bags..._ The halberd was something, but with my hurt shoulder, I couldn't swing it without the bleeding speeding up and intolerable pain.

Every noise made me paranoid. I would sit for 10 minutes, and hear one twig snap, or a distant scream until my heart nearly jumped through my throat. I had guessed I walked about 2 1/2 to 3 miles from the center of the arena before I heard something I was actually glad to hear, water. I heard a trickling and kept following it until I saw a spring that led to a larger pool. The stream had a soft sandy-silt bottom. I found where the water exited the pool, and cleaned the cloth off, scrubbing as much blood out as I could and watching the cloudy red mess float downstream. I ripped another clean strip from the cloth and hung the wet cloth on a branch nearby. It was approaching late afternoon now. The time seemed to pass quicker in the arena, that or my attempts with a hurt arm have slowed me to a pace in which time was disoriented. I walked around the area, keeping low. I found a bush of berries that I wanted to assume was safe, but I wasn't going to take my chances. I left them alone. For a forest, there wasn't too much I could gather that I felt safe eating.

I sat against a tree and watched the forest. Occasionally, a squirrel or bird would dance around the area, but nothing else seemed to live here. It was a good sign for now. I let my head hang and I began to sleep, until I heard a rather large cracking noise coming from my right, or in a northerly direction. I slip up onto my feet, shouldered my two bags and grabbed the halberd. I began to walk towards the noise. As stupid as this sounds, I felt it wasn't dangerous. When the branch broke, I heard a gasp and it sounded like it was another girl. Perhaps his girl was alone too. Having someone around kind of killed the already developing cabin fever.

I heard another branch break, this time with a curse being sworn out.

"Damn it! These branches. There's nothing out here to collect." I was lucky. I recognized this voice. I was unfamiliar with her from the limited training and talking I did with other tributes, but I did eat lunch with this girl with Emerald one of the last days of pre-games affairs. This girl was Maximine, from District 9. She was rather a backwater-type. She was high strung and at times very cocky. She was a year or two younger than me, but was decently strong, or so she looked. She was slightly bigger than I was though, so it did make her a threat, at least for later.

I approached cautiously. I wasn't going to walk blindly into a possible trap set by the Capitol. They could have just recorded voices and projected them to gave a false sense of paranoia or comfort. I peeked over some bushes to see Max inside the clearing, her hair had gotten snagged on a branch near her scalp, so the task in removing it was quite a large one. I smiled and shook my head. I walked into the clearing, Maximine's back facing me. I stepped on a branch and her movements stopped.

"Hello?... Who's there? ... Okay, just kill me quickly, alright? This is embarrassing enough as it is." I didn't make a sound and raised the halberd above me, as much as I could with only my left hand and just held it there. Maximine turned her head to see my boots on the ground.

"Well? Are you going to do it or not?" she cursed and spat. I swung the halberd down, snapping through the branch that tied her to the tree.

"What the heck? I was here and you didn't – OH. HI!" Maximine raised her head, both hands trying to untangle the branch from her hair.

"Hey, Max. Already getting caught up, huh? It's not even a day in yet, sheesh! And you're the one people have been referring to as a redneck? Man, are they wrong."

"You're damn right, that's wrong. I'm no hick!" Max said, getting frustrated with the branch hanging from the right side of her head.

"Here, let me..." I dropped the halberd and used my right arm limited to release the branch.

"There. Now don't go walking into anymore trees... okay?" I said rolling my eyes with a grin.

"Yeah... yeah... I was running and I got snagged, 'kay?"

"M-hm... I'm sure you were."

" I WAS! Honest!"

"M-hm...," I hummed. Max huffed. "Well, what do you got?"

"Nothing," she replied. "I didn't bother trying to get involved at the Cornucopia. I ran right to the forest to get a head start.

"Well... I got some useless stuff anyway. I wasn't worth getting my shoulder shot with an arrow for what I got in the bags, or this thing, because I don't know how to use it." I said, motioning to the halberd, and I picked it up and shouldered both bags again.

"Oh, neither do I. Never even seen one of those things before, anyways..."

"Well, I'll hold onto it. It could be used for something... for now...?"

"... For now...?"

"Want to work together?"

"Hell yes. I hate being alone here. It's creepy enough, and with night coming, who knows what else will crawl outta here in the dark."

"Agreed then. For now, we gotta find a place to stay." I looked up into the trees as we walked. I looked into the distance as we followed the stream I found downstream and I noticed a small hill with a flat top and a small stone cave atop it.

"Here. That might work," I said, jogging up to the cave, peering inside. "It's small, but it'll do for one night, we don't have a choice now."

"Alright, if we aren't going to be outside, that's fine with moi." she said, giving a grin. I could tell she was just as glad for the company as I was.

We sat inside and talked until we both dozed off. We really should have had one person keeping watch, because I opened my eyes to hear a voice, quite loud about 50 feet from out cave.

"Max..." I whispered, placing a hand on her shoulder, gently shaking it to wake up.

"What?" Max groaned. I immediately placed a hand over her mouth, and placing a finger to my lips. She looked up at me and nodded. I approached the mouth of the cave, seeing the sun was starting to rise. I could at least see outside. Straight ahead was some sort of motion crashing through the trees. I stepped outside to get a better view. I saw glimpses of blonde hair and I knew immediately I lucked out BIG TIME. It was Emerald.

"Emerald?" I yelled. The crashing stopped.

"Zalia?" She questioned back.

"Yeah, over here!" I waved my left arm high enough until she turned to see me." I turned to Max and told her the Emerald is a friend. Max seemed to feel relieved too.

"Well, I'm glad you saw that I went to the woods, Zalia. I knew I'd run into you."

"It was just luck I got to the woods actually... I wanted cover." I shrugged and gave a half-grin.

"Well, I'm glad we both thought the same way."

"So, did you get to the Cornucopia? Get anything?"

"I don't know. I haven't gone through anything. I was been busy traveling as far from the bloodbath as possible."

"Oh, well, where is your stuff." I noticed she wasn't carrying a bag at the moment.

If you head to the north, it borders a large lakes with islands. I am on the line between the woods and water there. Figured it was easier than traveling through water or trees... very scenic anyway." She explained with her typical upbeat giggle.

"Well, I found Max here last night. I guess that makes three of us now." I grinned. I was glad. Things were finally looking up. After losing a major part of my alliance, I finally gained someone who I could maybe count on to fill the gap.

_Who am I kidding? No one can fill his space. Such a short time, and I grew so close to him... now he's gone._

"So, let's head to the beach to get your stuff." I told Emerald as I shouldered the backpacks. "Oh! Here. You can have this, since you actually know how to use it!" I handed her the halberd.

"Oh, wow! You got this at the Cornucopia?"

"M-hm... nearly had to fight Irvine for it, but... he was afraid of me." I bluffed, at which Emerald smiled.

"Well, both of you are lucky you went to the Cornucopia and lived... I would have just died right off the plate had I not just booked it here." Max said giving a self-pitied chuckle.

"Well, I got something that might be of use to both of you. I grabbed two backpacks that had a weapon secured to the outside of each one. I have a third weapon too."

"Oh... wow... you got a lot more than I did. It figures I grab the most worthless bags." I sighed with frustration.

"It'll be fine. We're together now. We'll work our way through this."

"You're always an optimist, Emerald."

"You're always a pessimist." she replied, giving a wink.

"Wow. I feel so out of place... you have history together... I'm the third wheel."

"Oh, don't worry about it." I slugged an arm around Max's shoulder as we broke through the tree line.

"Zalia..." Emerald began to speak... I blocked everything out.

"Am I seeing things?..." I spoke out loud. I heard no answer. I began to walk forward towards what I was staring so intently at.

"No, Zalia.. you aren't." I finally heard Emerald reply. I took off, dead sprint, running as fast as I possibly could, stumbling over the shifty sand of the beach. I dropped onto my knees and threw my weight against it... It was real... He was real...

"How?" I asked frantically, sobbing like a fool. I was scared, but excited... Life felt like it was flowing back into me. I couldn't believe it. I pulled my arms tight. I wasn't going to let go, not again.

"Zalia..." he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me tight. "I'm sorry..."

"No... I'm sorry... I did it... all of it."

"No, the Capitol did that. Not you. I could see it in your eyes a moment too late. It wasn't you looking at me then."

"Oh, how am I not dreaming? I never thought I'd see you again."

"You aren't dreaming, Zalia... I'm here... and I'm not going to let the Capitol hurt you again." his voice was shaky... he was crying too.

"How are you alive?" I asked pulling back to look him in the eyes.

"The Capitol revived me with their infernal technology that goes against nature as soon as you were pulled from the room. Emerald filled me in on how they removed me from the training room on a stretcher instead of a casket. The Capitol kept me alive, but hidden to torture you. I was in a coma for 3 days is seemed. I woke up the morning of the games. I hardly had time to restore my senses before I was thrust into the tube for the arena."

"I... I can't believed they toyed my with me like that. Had me kill you, only to have you revived... this is too much."

"Is it?" he came over and hugged me from behind. "I'm glad they revived me, Zalia. As against nature as it is, it was even worse to not be able to tell you this," Zexion leaned closer to my right ear and whispered. "I love you, Zalia." He gripped me tighter, and I could feel he was trembling. A second later, I felt a drop hit the right side of my chest. He was crying again. I raised my left hand to touch his face, and pulled it to face mine.

"We're together. That's all that matters now." I said, and leaned in to kiss him again. It felt like an eternity ago I had done that last. Is absence was like a gaping hole in my soul, like nothing existed during that time. It's like I died when he did. I was a zombie since then.

We all just talked during that day. It's like the game wasn't being played anymore. At least for me. I know Emerald and Max went off to check the area, but the Games didn't matter to me anymore.

As nighttime fell, I realized Zexion had never rose to his feet from the sandy shore all day. I stood above him and I grabbed his hands to pull him up.

"Zalia... My legs aren't quite healed. I used all my endurance to make it to the forest. Before my legs gave out for a while. We walked all day and night to get here this morning, where Emerald happened to run into you in the woods. The Capitol did something to them to inhibit me in the Games. You didn't give me leg injuries during the duel..."

"They... hurt your legs?"

"I think so. During the duel, my legs weren't messed up like this. My right legs doesn't straighten at all. The joint is kept unlocked entirely. The left legs seems okay, but it's weak still."

"Could the Capitol do any more to hurt you?" I said, sitting beside him, leaning my head against his shoulder.

"They have killed me. I don't think they can do much more... I'm just finding it hard to believe I died... and am still alive now. I'm not sad about it. Not in the slightest, but does this make me human? Or some sort of undead?"

"It makes you alive, and that's good enough for me." I sighed, closing my eyes and nudging my head against his shoulder. He reached his right arms across him and raised my chin up and leaned over to kiss me. It was real, there's no other explanation for it.

He laid down on his side on the warm, moist sand as I laid on my side to face him. He moved his head forward, looking into my eyes, enough so that the tops of our foreheads touched. Every touch felt... real. I couldn't describe it any other way and make it wholly accurate. We whispered and laughed and talked into sleep.

Even though the Capitol was looking down on all of us now, they couldn't ruin this moment for me. I had him back, and now I was going to protect him, as he already took the fall for me. If anything was going to happen, I was going to return the favor.


End file.
